The one with Joey and Phoebe's wedding
by littleblackcurlyhair
Summary: Ok, so I've decided to take a different turn on this story, and I'm rewriting the second chapter: Mike and Phoebe are still married, but their marriage is not holding up well, and after her and Joey's crazy night together at Ross and Rachel's wedding, Phoebe starts to have feelings for Joey, and vice versa. This is the story of how they end up together. Please review! :D
1. Good-byes and Happy Endings

_Phoebe was the last person in the church, along with her brother Frank Jr., waiting for her signal to walk the isle. Snow was falling, outside, but it couldn't be a more perfect setting for her wedding. Joey's niece, and her nephew Frank Jr. Jr. were the flower girl and ring bearer. They had already walked. Chandler and Monica, the best man and maid of honor, (which had literally been decided based on a coin toss, after a lot of arguing between the two couples over who it should be.) went next, and then Ross and Rachel. Frank Jr. was giving her away, in place of their father._

_Letting out a deep breath, she turned to Frank Jr. "How do I look?" she asked._

_Frank Jr looked her over, gave her smirk, and nodded in approval. "Beautiful, sis."_

_Phoebe was nervously playing with one of the white flowers that were woven in her hair in hippie-inspired crown around her hair. She glanced in a mirror at herself, in her long white gown. It was beautiful. Nothing too billowy, or overly fancy. It was perfect for her. "You really think so?" she asked her younger brother._

_"Yeah, I really do, you look great!"_

_They heard the music blast over the speakers, which was her Que to walk. 'Oh my God, this is it..' she thought, taking another deep breath._

_Frank Jr held his arm out to her. "That's us. You ready to do this?"_

_"Yeah. Uh huh..." Phoebe said, nodding, but she didn't take his arm. She was trying to remain confidant, but her heart was suddenly beating rapidly, and her stomach began to churn. "At least...I think I am." She tried to steady her breathing. Frank looked at her, concerned._

_"Phoebe?"_

_"I'm ok...I just...I...I.." she sat down in a chair near the door, because her knees had suddenly gone weak. She knew that Joey was out there, waiting. Probably beginning to worry about her. In a few minutes, he would be her husband. She would be married. She looked up at Frank Jr. "I...don't know if I can do this." she finally admitted, placing her head in her hands._

**/Two years earlier/**

The day that Joey left New York for LA was an emotional day for him. He was excited about the change, but also nervous, and sad to be leaving behind the friends he made New York. They were his best friends in the whole world, and as much as he was going to miss them, he kept telling himself that he was making the right decision. They all showed up at the airport that day to see him off, and say their final good-byes and wish him good luck.

It wasn't quite as difficult as it was for them when Rachel almost moved to France, because they knew that at least Joey was still in the country and that he would be back to visit as much as he could. Still, he gave them each a hug and told them all how much he was going to miss them. When he went to give Phoebe one last hug, he paused, hesitantly.

"Pheebs, what's wrong?" he asked.

When Rachel left, Phoebe had managed to stay pretty calm, considering Monica cried her eyes out and Phoebe didn't shed a single tear. That's why he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. Putting his arm around her, he pulled her aside from the others to some chairs and sat down with her.

"..Nothing." She said, in a shaky voice, as she stared down at the floor."It's just that...I'm really gonna miss you."

Joey felt a lump in his throat as he gave a half smile, as he put his hand on hers. "Awh, Pheebs. I'm gonna miss you so much. But..you know I'll call you as much as I can, and I'll be back in a few months for Thanksgiving."

"I know.." Phoebe said, taking a deep breath. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked up at him. "But..I mean...If you get there, and suddenly become a big star or whatever...you won't forget me, will you?"

Joey put his other hand on her cheek, looking her in the eye. "Of course not, Phoebe! Why would you even think that? Pheebs, you've always believed in me, no matter what. You're my best friend, and you always will be! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be doing this right now."

Phoebe gave a slight chuckle, wiping her eyes again on her sleeve. "I guess this is my fault then. Maybe I should have been harder on you."

Joey smiled. He reached over, gently brushing another tear from her cheek with his knuckles. "I could never forget you, Phoebe. You're one of a kind, that's for sure."

He paused, as he thought of something that might make her feel better. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and took something out and showed it to her.

"Look, Pheebs...This is my senior high school ring. I gave it to three different girls that year, and every one of them ended up throwing it at me. Probably because I failed to mention that I was going out with all 3 of them at the same time, I dunno.." he gave a shrug and smirked as he put it in Phoebe's hand.

"I want you to have it. Because you'll always be my number one girl."

Phoebe looked up at him with a teary-eyed smile. Without another word she threw her arms around his neck, and he hugged her back as tight as he could. After a few seconds, she pulled back, grinning as she looked at him. "You give 'em hell in Hollywood, ok?"

"Don't worry, I will."

"I know you will." she said, and gave him one last squeeze before Joey heard them announce his flight was boarding. They stood up, and Phoebe went back to join the rest of the gang as Joey grabbed his stuff and went towards the exit. He looked back one last time at his friends and waved. They all waved back, and he turned to give the attendant his boarding pass, but not before he saw Phoebe turn away, burying her face into Ross's shoulder. He knew it was too hard for her to watch him go. Seeing her so upset gave him a sinking feeling in his chest, and it was at that moment that it occurred to him that leaving her behind might be the biggest mistake he'd ever make...


	2. The Phone Call

Joey fell face down onto his bed, and groaned into his pillow. He was feeling exhausted and defeated, after yet another failed audition. He was getting so frustrated. He moved here, thinking there would be tons of opportunities to launch his acting career, but so far things weren't going any better for him than they had in New York. He didn't realize how hard it was to get a foot in the door, even with something like 'Days of Our Lives" on his resume. He rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling and sighed.

"Maybe it's time to just give up on my stupid dreams.." he muttered. He had never felt so discouraged, but he always use to have his friends to boost his confidence and encourage him when he was feeling down on himself. If Phoebe was here, she'd probably tell him to stop feeling sorry for himself and get back out there. She always had so much faith in him. He missed her. He missed her kind words. He missed the random things she use to talk about. He missed listening to her play her guitar, and the way she laughed, her hair, her smile...

He shook his head as he sat up, suddenly. He was finding himself thinking about Phoebe all the time, lately. He kept telling himself it was just because he missed her so much. She was his best friend, after all, but he was missing her more than he missed any of his other friends. 'Ross ended up with Rachel, and Chandler has Monica,' he thought. 'Why didn't I ever start something with Phoebe?' He sighed, shaking his head again. "I'm just thinking like this because I'm lonely.." he muttered to himself. "You've already been through this once, Joe. Don't do make the same mistake twice. It'll never happen. Phoebe's married..." with another heavy sigh, Joey shut his eyes to try and sleep. At least when he was asleep he didn't feel so down about everything.

He had just started to drift off to sleep, when he heard the phone ring on his night stand. Annoyed, he rolled over and ignored it, thinking it was probably just another rejection from his new agent. His sister yelled up the stairs that it was for him.  
"Dammit, Tina.." Joey muttered, as he reached over and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

"Hey, Joey!"

He sat up, suddenly lighting up with happiness at the sound of her voice. "Pheebs! How are you?"

"Fine, I just got home from work and I thought I'd call and check up on you. You haven't called me in a while."

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been meaning to, I just have a lot going on, y'know?"

"Uh-huh. You must have all sorts of work coming in by now!"

"Yeah, exactly.." Joey lied. He didn't want to worry her with his problems. "Things are going pretty great here."

"That's good to hear." Phoebe said. "I've been kinda worried about you, I've just had this feeling that something might be wrong."

"No, no..everythings good. No need to worry about me, Pheebs I'm loving it here!"

"That's great, Joey! I really miss you, though."

Joey smiled. "Awh, I miss you too, Pheebs."

"So, did Ross and Rachel tell you the good news?" Phoebe asked, sounding excited.

Joey furrowed his brow. "Uh..no? What news?"

"You didn't hear? They're getting married!"

Joey's heart sank a bit, hearing this. "They what!?"

"Uh-huh, Ross proposed to her over the weekend, and she said yes!"

"Well nobody told me!" Joey protested. He hated being so far away from his friends and missing out on things like this.

"Oh.." Phoebe said. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. I thought you knew. I guess they must have just forgot to tell you."

"But how could they forget? I'm their friend! Am I even invited to the wedding?"

"Joey, don't be silly! Of course you're invited! They've already sent out invitations. You're Ross's best man! Well..he was going to ask you, last I heard, anyways."

"Oh. Really?" Joey said, calming down a little. He felt better knowing that his friends hadn't totally forgot about him.

"Yeah, and I'm one of Rachel's bridesmaids. But Chandler and Monica are the grooms man and maid of honor. Figures, huh? The two of us always come second, just cause they've all known each other longer!"

"I know!" Joey said, and then he laughed. He missed the way he and Phoebe use to meet up once a month for dinner to talk about their other friends. They always had a special bond, that way.

"Anyways, it's this summer, are you going to be able to make it? Or are you gonna be all busy, y'know, being a big Hollywood star and everything?"

Joey's smile faded when she mentioned that. He didn't want to think about his work, or lack there of. "I doubt that, Pheebs. Besides, I wouldn't miss their wedding for the world, you know that."

"Yeah, it's going to be so much fun! I can't wait! Hey! Since we're like, the unchosen ones or whatever, you could be my date to the wedding!"  
Joey grinned again. "Of course I'll be your date, Pheebs. What about Mike, though? Isn't he coming?"

There was a pause at her end. "...I don't know if he is, or not, to be honest, Joe. He's just been...really busy with work lately. I barely ever see him anymore."

"Really?" Joey said, becoming concerned. She didn't sound too happy when she talked about Mike. "Hey, Pheebs? Uh..not that it's any of my business, but...is everything ok with you guys?"

"Yeah, sure!" Phoebe assured him. "We just..haven't been spending a lot of time together, because of our work schedueles, but it's just temporary. He just suddenly got a lot of work, which is good, I guess. I just wish he was around more. I miss him.."

Joey didn't like the tone of her voice. She sounded so sad. He wished he could be there to give her a hug. 'Mike better not ever hurt her..' he thought to himself, remembering the talk he had with Mike about that before he and Phoebe got married.

"Awh, Pheebs. I'm sorry. But, hey, like you said, it's just temporary. If you're lonely, though, you can call and talk to me any time. I don't mind. Besides, I miss you. It's great just hearing your voice again."

"I miss you, too. And don't worry, I will call you." she said. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Joey!"

"Why would I want to?" he asked her with a grin.

"Exactly! Well, anyways, Joey, I should probably let you go. I just thought I'd see how you were doing. You worry me when you don't call, you know?"

"Sorry, Pheebs. I'll try to remember to call you more. How bout this weekend? We can make it a thing, you know? Like every Saturday night I'll call you or you call me?"

"Yeah! That'd be great!" Phoebe told him. "It'll give me something to look forward to during the week!"

"Ok!" Joey happily agreed, as he was thinking the same thing. "So it's a date then. Well, a phone date. And I'll see you for Ross and Rachel's wedding this summer."

"I can't wait! Well, I'll talk to you on Saturday, then. Night, Joey."

"Night, Pheebs." He said, pausing a moment before he hung up the phone.

He almost told her that he loved her. He wanted to, but he knew he shouldn't. He did love her. He always had. She was his best friend. But now she was married. And she lived in another city. Joey sighed, as he got up to go down to the kitchen to make something to eat, and take his mind off of her. He missed New York. He missed all his friends. He missed Phoebe.


	3. Ross and Rachel's wedding

Joey was sitting at the head table of the reception hall, next to Chandler. The food was delicious, and because it was all free, Joey ate as much of it as he possibly could, as usual. The ceremony had been perfect, as well. Not as fancy as Monica and Chandler's wedding had been, as they weren't as obsessed with every detail as Monica was, but it was beautiful, and everybody seemed so happy to see Ross and Rachel, finally married, including Joey. He was so happy that his friends were happy, and that he was with all of them again, but when he watched the two of them get up for their first dance together, it made him feel sad, seeing them wrapped in each others arms, so in love. This was the third wedding he had attended of his best friends. (not including Ross's previous marriages.) It was official. All of them were married, now, and he was still alone.

"Oh my God, you guys have got to try this wine!" Joey looked up when Phoebe sat down next to him. Her and Monica had moved over to their side of the table when Ross and Rachel got up to dance. She looked so beautiful tonight, in the matching black bridesmaid dresses that her and Monica were wearing. Rachel had picked them out, so obviously they were perfect. Joey still couldn't seem to get rid of the crush he had been developing on her, despite her being his best friend, and married, at that. He loved being around her again after so long, but it was difficult.

"We already did, Pheebs, the bottle's almost empty." Chandler told her. "We're saving room for the champagne, later."

"My God," Monica said, leaning over to join the conversation. "Look at how happy they look! And Emma is so cute in her little flower girl dress! I can't believe their finally married!"

"Yeah.." Phoebe said. "But I'm also kind of sad that there won't be anymore weddings for all of us after this...unless you get married, Joey!"  
Joey shot Chandler a glare when he let out a loud, unnecessary laugh.

"Sorry, man.." Chandler said, and poured himself some more dessert wine. Joey finished off what was left in his glass, and stood up to leave the table. "I'll be right back, guys. I'm gonna go find the men's room." he told them.

Really, he just wanted to go upstairs to his hotel room and be alone, for a minute. He didn't know why he was feeling so down. He was supposed to be happy, tonight. Ross and Rachel were married, and he was with all his friends again. "God, what's wrong with me?" he wondered, as he left the reception hall and made his way to the elevator. When he reached his floor, Joey found his room and reached for his card key in his pocket to open the door.

"Joey?" he turned around seeing Phoebe at the end of the hall approaching him. She had her hand over her forehead.

"Hey, Pheebs." he said. "What are you doing up here?"

"I got hit with a cork. Because Chandler's too drunk to open a champagne bottle without shooting someone in the face with it!" Phoebe said, in an irritated tone.

"Oh no! Are you okay, Pheebs?" Joey asked, as he stepped towards her to get a better look at her head where she'd been hit. As he took her hand away he saw that she was bleeding a little. "Here, why don't you come into my room, and sit down." he said. He turned around and unlocked the door with his card key. He took Phoebe's hand, leading he to a chair to sit down, before he grabbed a handful of tissues from a box next to the bed. He pressed them against the cut on her head. "It'll be ok, Pheebs. Here, you stop the bleeding, and I'll go get you some ice." he said.

"Ok, thanks, Joe." Phoebe said, taking the tissues from him and applying pressure to her cut, while Joey grabbed the ice bucket out of the bathroom. He went down the hall to the ice machine, and filled it up until it was almost full. He didn't think Phoebe needed a lot of ice, but it was better to be safe. He brought the bucket back into his room, and grabbed a hand towel from the bathroom. He wrapped a handful of the ice cubes in the towel and went back out to where Phoebe was. He noticed that she had a bottle of what looked like expensive champagne in her hands.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Oh, don't worry, I got it from Chandler and Monica's room. I was gonna open it and make Chandler pay for it. That'll learn him for hitting me with a cork!" she said.

Joey grinned. "I like your style, Pheobe Buffay. How'd you get into their room, anyways?"

"Oh, y'know...I have a knack for breaking into places." she said with a shrug.

Joey laughed, shaking his head as he handed her the ice, and took the bottle from her. "You haven't changed one bit, Pheebs. Here, I'll open it. Don't worry, I won't aim it at your face!" he twisted and pried until the cork popped off, and champagne foam bubbled over the top of the bottle. Joey quickly found some champagne glasses and filled them up, handing one to Phoebe. He was really enjoying this opportunity to spend some time with her alone. He was already in a better mood than he had been, before. He lifted his glass.  
"To Ross and Rachel," he said. "And Chandler, I guess, since he's paying for it."

"Cheers!" Phoebe said, with a laugh and touched her glass against his. Joey drank his, and sat down across from her at the end of his bed.  
Phoebe took a sip from her glass and looked at him, as she lowered the towel from her face. "That's some really good wine downstairs, I must have had like, 3 glasses already. Maybe more." Phoebe said with a laugh.

"Yeah, it was good. I had quite a bit myself." Joey told her. He smiled, looking her up and down in the same flirtatious way he always use to. "Did I tell how great you look tonight, Pheebs?"

"Mhm, you told me at the ceremony, remember? But I do, so thank you! You know, I was gonna ask you to dance, but you left." she said.  
"Oh, yeah, I uh..I just needed to come up here for a minute and get some fresh air. I was gonna come back."

Phoebe gave him a strange look. "Fresh air? Up here?"

Joey gave a shrug. "Well..you know, out on the balcony."

Phoebe finished what was in her glass and set it down on the table beside her. "Oh. Well, we can go outside, if you want to." she said.

"Sure, why not?" Joey agreed. He grabbed the glasses and champagne bottle and went to the sliding glass door.  
"Let me get that." Phoebe said, and pulled it open. It a nice night outside. Perfectly warm, with just a slight breeze. Joey liked the view of the city from up here. He leaned against the railing, looking out.

"Is something wrong, Joey?" Phoebe asked him.

"Uh..no." Joey said, nervously. But Phoebe didn't look convinced, as she tilted her head and looked at him. She reached over, touching his hand.

"Are you not having a good time at the reception?" she asked.

Joey felt a brief chill shoot up his spine. He cleared his throat. "No, I am..I guess." he said. He reached poured a little more champagne into his glass, and refilled Phoebe's glass, as well before he set the bottle aside.

"It's just..." Joey shrugged, and gave a sigh. "I don't know. I'm happy for them. And I'm having a good time. Really, I am.."

"No, tell me." Phoebe insisted, placing her hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, Joey?" she asked, looking at him with a concerned expression.

Joey looked down and took a deep breath. He turned around, leaning back and resting his elbows on the rail. "Well, I guess...it just, kinda makes me feel bad, you know? Seeing all of you guys, getting married, and having kids and all this stuff, and here I am. Still alone, and..still struggling to try and make it in the acting world. It's pathetic, really."

"Joey, sweetie, you are not pathetic." Phoebe said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Not even a little bit! You're going off and chasing your dream! That takes so much courage!"

Joey let out another sigh. "I know.. You're right. I'm just being stupid, I guess."

Phoebe smirked. She took another sip of champagne before she looked at him. "Joey.. Are you happy in L.A.?"

Joey froze, momentarily. He didn't want to answer truthfully, because he didn't want his friends to worry about him. But for some reason, he couldn't lie to her this time. He shook his head. "Not really...I mean, I don't know anybody there, and I didn't know how hard it was to start a career in that city, when there's thousands of other people trying to do the same thing. I just thought that since you guys were all moving forward in life..you know.. becoming parents, and being happily married..I don't know. I guess I just thought something would happen for me there. But so far...nothing has. Sometimes I feel like it was a huge mistake to move there."

Phoebe shrugged. "Well, we always learn best from our mistakes, don't we?" she said, giving him a nudge. Joey smirked, knowing she was right. She always was. 'She doesn't even know how smart she is..' he thought.

"Personally, I think you should come home." Phoebe went on. "You could always keep acting here, you know? Find yourself a better agent, and try something different. Besides, I really miss having you around."

"I miss having you around, too, Pheebs." he said. He put his arms around her, giving her a hug. She always knew how to make him feel better. Phoebe hugged him back, tightly for a moment. When she let go, she finished the champagne in her glass. Joey laughed when he saw her reach for the bottle again.

"You're gonna drink that whole thing, aren't you?" he said.

"Of course not! You're gonna help me." Phoebe told him with a grin as she refilled their glasses again. "I mean, it's a wedding! We're supposed to get wasted!"

Joey nodded in approval. "I'll drink to that!" he said, and clinked his glass against hers. He was already starting to feel buzzed.  
Phoebe drank from her glass, and set it down on the table again. "This wedding is fun, huh? A lot more fancy than mine was!"

"Your wedding was fun, too, Pheebs. I liked it! It was..unique. Like you." Joey told her with a smile. "You were so beautiful.." he found himself saying. "And you looked so happy. It was a great night."

Phoebe didn't say anything for a moment, taking another sip from her glass and looked up at him. "Joey...you know, you really shouldn't envy me for being 'happily married.'"

Joey furrowed his brow, and looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Phoebe gave a hesitant pause before she spoke. "Well..it's just sometimes..I don't know if we are. I mean, when Mike's around, everything is great! But...he's not around a whole lot anymore. He works a lot, and he also goes off to do gigs, and he goes and visits his family...I feel like every time I turn around, he's gone, without me! And I don't know if it's because he just doesn't like spending time with me, or...maybe he.." Phoebe cut herself off, staring off for a moment. She shook her head, giving a small smile. "I'm sorry, Joey. I don't know why I'm talking about this." She took a step towards the door to go back inside, but Joey grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Woah, wait a minute...Pheebs, I thought you said you and Mike were ok?" he said. "I don't understand, I thought you guys were in love?"

"We are." Phoebe said with a reassuring nod. "At least...I think so. I do love him, but..sometimes, I just get so lonely with him being gone so much. It's like, I might as well be single, you know? And sometimes I think..." she paused again, looking down at the glass in her hands. "Joey...you don't think Mike is cheating on me, do you?" she said, looking up at him.

Joey didn't know how to answer her, but he saw the pain in her eyes, and it made him very angry with Mike for making her feel this way, whether he was or not. "He better not be!" Joey said. "Cause if he is, I'll kick his friggin' ass!"  
Phoebe smiled. "You would?"

"You bet I would! I'm serious. Phoebe, if he ever hurts you, you need to tell me, alright? Because I wouldn't let him, or anyone get away with treating you like that! You deserve to be treated like..a princess."

Phoebe's smile broadened, and she blushed a little, waving her hand, modestly. "Awwh.."

"It's true!" Joey told her. "If I had a girl like you, Pheebs, I would do everything I could to make you happy, so that I could see your beautiful smile, everyday. "

Phoebe's eyes lit up when she looked at him. She had the prettiest eyes.  
"Really?"

"Of course! You know Mike is really missing out on so much just by not being around you. I don't understand how he could not want to be with you! I mean, you're so smart, and funny and sweet. He's such a lucky guy to have you..I mean, he's not even here tonight! To see how hot you look in that dress!"

Phoebe raised her shoulders, with a modest grin. "Well...yeah, you're right." she said and giggled. Joey grinned, too. He always had admired her confidence, and he loved it when he could make her feel good about herself. She deserved to feel like that all the time. "You look pretty hot in your tux, too, you know!" she said, playfully grabbing the collar of his jacket.  
Joey gave a half smile. "Oh...thanks!" he said.

Phoebe reached for the champagne again. There was only a little bit left in the bottle so she poured some into each of their glasses. "Awh, Joey...I wish you didn't live so far away." she said, with a sigh.

"I know.." Joey said, shaking his head. "I am thinking about moving back though."

"I hope you do." Phoebe said. "I mean...if your not happy in LA, then maybe, it's just not meant to be, you know? I don't want you to be unhappy, Joey.." she leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder.

Joey smiled. "I don't want you to be unhappy, either, Pheebs." he said, as he put hers arm around her, pulling her close to him. He just stood like that for a few seconds, just enjoy the moment. If only she knew how he felt..

Phoebe drank the rest of what was in her glass. "Well, I guess we should go back downstairs." she said and stood up.

Joey finished off his own glass and set it down. He felt a little tipsy when he tried to walk. "That was, uh..some good champagne." he said, with a laugh. "How's your head?"

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Phoebe said, and giggled as she touched her forehead. " I'm so silly! It doesn't hurt anymore. Is it still bleeding?"

"Nah." Joey said. "It looks ok. From here, anyways." he leaned in a little closer to get a better look, placing his hand on her cheek. "Yeah, it's fine, I think." He brushed her hair off her shoulder and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He meant to do it in a playful way, to make her feel better, but he liked how it felt to kiss her. He kissed her on the nose once, and then on the lips. It lasted several seconds, and she didn't pull back, or push him away. His hand was still on her cheek when he stopped kissing her. She looked just as surprised as he felt by his own actions. Immediately, he wished he hadn't done it.

"Uhm..what are you doing?" she asked. Joey quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back.  
"I...I don't know." he stammered. "Oh God...Phoebe, I'm..I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that! I just...I.." he didn't even know how to finish that sentence.

Phoebe didn't say a word, she just stared at him with a stunned expression, while Joey stood their hating himself. He was so embarrassed and disappointed in himself. He didn't know what to do or say to fix this situation. He cleared his throat.  
"Well...this is awkward. I guess we should be going back to the party, now!" He said, as casually as he could, trying to play it off like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

He tried to walk past her into the room, when she put her hand on his arm to stop him. Joey paused. His eyes met hers and just held her gaze for a moment. His heart was pounding. He didn't know what she was going to do, but she didn't look angry or anything. She leaned a little closer to him, and he did the same.

The next thing he knew, their lips were touching, again. It gave him the chills. She was such a good kisser. He felt her hands start to move up his chest, and to his neck as she kissed him more deeply. He placed his hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer, as he started to move backwards, into the room, and taking her with him, trying not to trip over their feet as the fumbled their way inside, their lips not parting, until they eventually fell onto the bed together. Once he was on top of her, Joey continued to kiss her, so passionately. It felt amazing, and he didn't want to stop, Her lips were so soft and tasted like champagne. He was so caught up in this moment that couldn't think about anything else, his hands slowly moving down her sides as he kissed her, running them over the silky material of her dress. She slid his jacket off, and began pulling open the buttons of his shirt. Joey started kissing her neck, his hand moving up her back to find the zipper of his dress, when suddenly, it was like a red flag went off in his head. This was his best friend. His married best friend. He quickly stopped kissing her. "I can't.." he said, pulling away from her. "I can't do this, it's wrong! God, Pheebs, I'm so sorry for doing this..."

To his surprise, Phoebe nodded, and slowly sat up. "Oh, God. Yeah... yeah, you're right. I mean, this is crazy! What was I thinking? We need to stop this!"

"Yeah.." Joey said, nodding in agreement. As much as he didn't want to, he knew this was the right thing to do. He sat up, and started looking for his jacket, when he felt Phoebe's hand on his arm.

"I don't...really want to stop, though." She said.

He looked at her. She had been drinking quite a bit tonight, and so had he. Maybe that's why he was so confused right now. None of this seemed to make any sense to him right now.

"Pheebs.." he began to protest.

Phoebe moved closer to him, lowering her head to look into his eyes and bit her lip, as she slowly placed her arms around his neck. "Please, Joey?" she asked, softly.

'_Oh God, she's so hot. How can I say no to that_?' he thought. He didn't try to stop her when she kissed him again. He just kissed her back, and eventually laid back down on the bed, pulling her on top of him.


	4. The morning after the wedding

Phoebe was still mostly asleep, vaguely aware that she was lying next to Joey, her arm resting on his. Too warm and comfortable to wake herself up  
or question why she was there. She wasn't use to having someone to sleep beside, as she was usually alone, at home while Mike was away,  
and she was enjoying the company. He rolled onto his opposite side, in his sleep, facing her, and put his arms around her when she moved closer to him,  
as she rested her head against his chest. She didn't see anything wrong with this picture. Not yet, anyways.

Phoebe wasn't sure how long they layed like that before she slowly started to come to, opening her eyes. Her throat was dry, and an aching sensation was beginning to form in the back of her skull.

Everything suddenly came flooding back to her conscious mind. Last night. The wedding. The champagne,  
and kissing Joey... Suddenly she was wide away, and pulled herself away from him. "Oh my God..." she muttered to herself, as she became aware that she wasn't wearing any clothes, and neither was he. "Oh God, this is bad...Oh no." she pulled the sheets tightly around herself. She shut her eyes tightly, touching her hand to her forehead.

So many things were going through her mind right now. Mostly, thoughts of how much trouble she was in.

Joey was still asleep. She didn't want to wake him up, but she knew she had to. She reached over, shaking him by the shoulder. "Joey?..Joey, wake up!"

Joey started to stir and opened his eyes, looking around confused, as he slowly sat up. "Uh...morning." he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"D-do you remember anything from last night?" Phoebe asked him.

Joey paused for a moment and frowned. "I...think so. Did we...uhm...?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah. I, Uhm..I think we did."

"Yeah..I thought so. I'm pretty sure I remember that part.." he said with a quiet, awkward chuckle.

Phoebe was beginning to panic over the situation. She drank a lot last night. She was mad at Mike, for not coming to her two of her closest friends' wedding  
with her when he knew how much it meant to her, but cheating on him with her best friend? This was an all time low that she never thought she would ever cross. She wasn't that kind of person. At least, she didn't think she was, before now. With the guilt growing in the pit of her stomach, Phoebe cradled her head in her hands. "Oh no..." she groaned. "I can't believe this. I'm such a terrible person!"

"Pheebs, come on.." she heard Joey said. "It's not that big a deal."

"Oh sure, easy for you to say! You're not the one who's married!" Phoebe snapped at him.

"Ok...fair enough. But I mean...these things happen sometimes." Joey told her.

She sighed. She knew he was just trying to make her feel better, but it wasn't helping at all right now. "What am I going to do? Mike is going to hate me!  
I'm a terrible, terrible person!"

"No you're not, Phoebe.." Joey assured her. "Look, it's not like we planned for this to happen! Besides, I'm the one who made the first move, so if anyone should feel terrible, it's me!"

Phoebe looked up when she suddenly remembered how he had just kissed her out of the blue on the balcony, and how odd that seemed at the time. She still didn't understand why he did that. "Yeah..why DID you do that?"she asked him.

"Because...I-" he cut himself off mid-sentence and looked at her, before he put his head down and sighed before he gave a shrug. "Because I'm Joey. I'm disgusting...I take advantage of my drunk, vulnerable, married friends. God...Pheebs, I'm so sorry."

Phoebe felt bad for him, because that wasn't how she remembered it happening. He was right, they didn't plan it, it just sort of happened. They were talking about things..about how lonely they both had been lately. She remembered how she kept thinking about how comforting it was to have somebody to talk to about her problems with Mike. And how she couldn't help but notice how much more attractive Joey had gotten since he left. Maybe it was just because she hadn't seen him in so long, or because she was drunk. Phoebe shook her head, trying to forget all of that.

"No...Joey, it wasn't your fault. I practically threw myself at you. That much, I remember. And besides, you were drunk and vulnerable, too! I just..I can't believe that I would do something like this to Mike. I already hurt him once, that time David was here..." With one hand gripping the sheets, Phoebe started looking for her dress. Joey reached over his side of the bed, scooping it up off the floor and handing it to her before he started searching the ground for his own clothes. He found his boxers next to the bed and pulled them on under the covers.

As Phoebe turned away from him, placing her legs over the bed to pull her dress on, she felt tears sting her eyes. The more she thought about Mike, the more upset with herself she became. She rested her face in the palm of her hands. Joey had gotten up to look for the his pants and shirt. After he found them, and put them on, Phoebe felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Phoebe, please don't cry." he sat down next to her, and wiped away the tears running down her cheeks with his hand. "Look, I really didn't mean to screw things up for you and Mike. And I sure as hell didn't mean to hurt you. I'm really, _really_ sorry, Pheebs." he put his arm around her and she instinctively leaned into him, putting her head on his shoulder. It struck her as odd for a brief moment. How it should have been too awkward to touch him, after what they'd done, but she was so use to him comforting her that it wasn't. She felt bad that she had to ruin the short time they had together by doing something stupid like this. She gave a deep sigh before she spoke.

"Joey, I'm not upset with you, I'm upset with myself. I mean..what's Mike going to say when he finds out?" she asked, raising her head to look at him.

Joey looked slightly concerned. "Are you gonna tell him?"

Phoebe thought about it for a few seconds."I think I have to tell him. I don't want to, but I have to. I just don't think I could live with myself if I didn't. I just..I don't know how I'm going to do it."

Joey fell silent for a moment. "Maybe...maybe, I should be the one to tell him." he said. "I mean..if it wasn't for me this wouldn't have happened. And besides, I feel terrible. I have to leave for L.A. in a few days, and I can just leave, knowing that I did something horrible like this."

"Joey..." Phoebe said with a reluctant expression "If you tell him he's just going to be mad at you. He might even hit you."

Joey gave a shrug. "I could take it. In fact, I'd feel better if he did hit me, I think. I mean..I kinda deserve it."

Phoebe gave him a sympathetic smirk. She didn't want to tell Mike, and she didn't want Joey to be the one to tell him either. "Well..you know it might be easier if you were there when I told him."

"Sure, I can do that. I'm supposed to be leaving on Sunday, do you think you can tell him by then?"

Phoebe gave a shrug. "I guess."

Joey gave her a small, encouraging smile, and rubbing her arm. "Don't worry, Pheebs. I'm not going anywhere until this gets sorted out. Everything'll be ok. I mean...you and Mike love each other, right?"

"Yeah.." she said, even though right now, she hardly believed it. Mike forgave her once, but she didn't know if he would again. Especially for something like this. She was so afraid.

"See? Things'll work out. You'll see. I mean, sure Mike is going to be upset. But he loves you. He'll get over it, alright?"

Phoebe slowly nodded. She wanted to believe him, but she just felt terrible about it all. Joey must have sensed this because he pulled her close to him again, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She put her arms around him, because it made her feel so much better, and he returned her hug. At least this hadn't ruined their friendship. Sometimes Phoebe didn't think anything ever could because they were so close.

"Ooh! I almost forgot!" She said, letting go of him. "We're suppose to meet everyone downstairs for breakfast this morning! Oh God...what are we going to tell them? I mean, neither of us came back last night..."

"Oh. You're right.. Uhmm..." Joey tapped his chin, trying to think of something. "Well, I could say that I hooked up with some hot girl, I mean it's not a lie, or anything." he grinned, giving her a wink.

Phoebe couldn't help but smile, blushing a little. "Ok...but what about me?"

"Uh...oh! How bout you got knocked unconscious and fell into a ditch or something after you got nailed in the head with that cork?"

"Nah, they're not gonna believe that. But I guess I could say that I went home, because my head was hurting. What time is it?"

Joey glanced over at his alarm clock. "Almost 7:30, we still got an hour."

"Alright. Then I'm going to run home quickly and change out of my dress, so it doesn't look suspicious."

"Good idea."

Phoebe stood up, gathering up her shoes and her small purse off the night stand. "I just have to make sure nobody see's me leaving here."

"They're probably all still asleep. Especially Ross and Rach. I assume they had more fun than we did, last night."

"Well..I doubt that." Phoebe said, with a grin. She headed towards the door to leave. '_So not appropriate right now, Pheebs_.' she thought.

Joey stood up from the bed and walked over to the door. "So, uh...I'll call you?"

Phoebe turned around, her hand still on the door handle. He cracked a smile.

"I'm kidding, Pheebs. Relax. I..uh, guess I'll see you downstairs in a bit."

"Yeah." she said. They made brief eye contact before she looked away. For some reason, at that moment, she had the urge to kiss him again, but she knew that wouldn't be a good thing to do at this point.

She quickly turned the door handle. "Well, um...bye."

"Bye." he said, as she stepped out of the room.

That was probably the most awkward good-bye she'd ever experienced after a one night stand, but for good reason. Phoebe looked in both directions, making sure Ross, Rachel, Chandler or Monica weren't there, as their rooms were on the same floor. Joey was right, they must have all still been asleep. She let out a deep breath of relief as she walked quickly to the elevator and pressed the button to the main floor. There was still a whirlwind of emotions going on in her head right now. Most of them bad. She felt bad about Mike, and nervous about telling him, but she also felt bad about the way she had used Joey to get back at him. At least she that's the reason she gave herself for why she did it. But why did she feel so...differently about him now? She shook her head. She didn't even want to try and analyze that question right now. She had much bigger problems to deal with right now. And besides, even if she had kind of used him, he probably didn't mind so much. He was Joey, after all. She sighed as she stepped onto the elevator, hoping she was going to be able to keep to together, at least long enough to make it through breakfast with her friends. She didn't need them finding out what happened, even though eventually, they probably would..

A/N - Just to switch things up, I decided to make this chapter Phoebe's POV. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think so far! ;)


	5. Someone knows

"Rachel, honey are you ready yet?" Ross called into the bathroom of their room. He was standing in the door way, ready to go meet everyone downstairs, while Rachel was getting ready. But as usual, she was taking her sweet time.

"Yeah, just a minute Ross. What's the hurry? We still got plenty of time." Rachel answered him. "If we're late, they'll understand. We are kind of paying for all this, after all."

Ross gave a chuckle, walking into the bathroom. "That's true, I guess. But sweetie, I told you, you already look beautiful." he put his hands around his wife's waist, and pulled her in for a kiss. He smiled halfway into the kiss and pulled back, looking at her in the mirror. " Don't you think so, Mrs. Ross Gellar? Oh, wait. Mrs. DOCTER Ross Gellar!"

Rachel smiled shaking her head and turned around to face him. "Please don't ever call me that again." she said, and gave him another kiss. "Mrs. Gellar is fine for now. I can't believe I can finally call myself that!"

"I know!" Ross said, with a grin. "I can't believe we're finally married! Well.. for real, this time. But, I mean, we spent so long planning this wedding, and now that all is said and done, well...what do we do now?"

Rachel linked her arms around his neck with and smiled. "How about let's start by getting some breakfast. I'm starving!"

"Me too." Ross agreed. They finally left the room, heading down the hallway hand in hand.

"Hey, uh...did you happen to see Phoebe last night after dinner? Monica said that Chandler hit her with a cork or something, and she left and didn't come back." Ross asked suddenly.

"No, actually." Rachel said, as she came to a stop in the hall to look at him. "I hope she's ok. You know, come to think of it..I didn't see Joey last night, either after the dinner. Huh..I wonder where they went! I mean, if Phoebe was hurt real bad you'd think she would have called. But I don't know where Joey took off, to."

Ross pointed at a door a few feet away from them. "Well, this is Joey's room. Should we make sure he's still here?"

"I guess." Rachel said with a shrug as they went over to his door. She knocked at waited a few seconds before Joey answered.

"Oh, hey guys." he said, stepping aside to let them in. "I was just getting ready to come downstairs to meet you for breakfast."

"Yeah..we just thought we'd make sure you were ok, because we didn't see you last night at the reception." Rachel told him as they stepped inside the room.

Joey shrugged. "What are you talking about, I was there! I just...uh, ended up taking off kinda early."

"How come, Joe?" Ross asked. "I mean you missed out on all the fun!"

Joey looked away from them and smiled to himself. "Oh, I had plenty of fun..In fact I had a great time, last night."

"Let me guess," Rachel said, and crossed her arms as she looked at him. "You hooked up with someone?"

Joey rubbed the back of his neck. "Well..yeah."

"Uh huh.." Rachel said, giving Ross a knowing look. "LA hasn't changed him one bit." she told him, shaking her head.

"Come on, guys." Joey said with a shrug. "Look, I'm sorry I bailed early, but...that's what happens at weddings! People come to eat, and drink, and hook up with people! That's how it works."

"So who was she?" Rachel asked. "One of my friends, I bet. Was it Lucy? My old roomate?"

Joey cleared his throat "I...uh, don't remember her name. It was uh..something, French, I think."

Ross looked at Rachel, confused. "Who do you know from France?"

"No one, I don't think.."

Joey raised his shoulders. "Maybe she wasn't even with our party. I dunno, I didn't ask many questions."

Rachel gave a sigh, staring off, thoughtfully for a moment. "Great, now this is going to bugging me all day, trying to figure out who it was. I will, though!"

Joey laughed. "Yeah, I don't think so.." he started packing up his suitcase he had with him, so that he'd be ready to check out after breakfast.

"Well, anyways, Joe.." Ross said. "Did you hear from Phoebe before you left?"

Joey froze suddenly, and slowly turned around. "Uh...no. Not really. Why?"

"Well, Monica said she was hurt, and she took off after the dinner, around the same time you left, I guess. Chandler hit her with a cork, apparently."

"Well...uh...I dunno, maybe she was tired." Joey told him. "Or she was just mad at Chandler. Who knows."

"Yeah, but for her to just leave the wedding without telling anyone?" Rachel pointed out.

"I'm sure she..had a good reason. You know Pheebs. Besides, she'll probably be down at the restaraunt when we get there. Speaking of which, I'm gonna be a few minutes, yet, I need to have a shower. Do you guys just wanna meet me down there?"

"Yeah, alright." Ross said.

"Alright..save me some of the good food!" Joey told them. As he went into the bathroom, Rachel suddenly grasped Ross by the arm to get his attention. Her jaw dropped as she noticed something on the floor by Joey's bed. She quickly picked the small object up and pointed urgently to the door, as she dragged Ross out into the hallway so they could talk.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I know who Joey was with last night!" she said in a hushed voice.

Ross rolled his eyes. "Rach..does it really matter?"

Rachel held the object she had picked up off the floor in front of him to show him. "Look! Do you know who this earring belongs to!?"

Ross took it from her, looking over it carefully. "No, I have no id-" he paused, and gave a gasp of surprise. "This is Monica's! I know, because I bought these earrings for her one Christmas! Oh my God!"

"No, no! Don't worry, they are Monica's, but she lent them to me, and forgot they were hers and I lent them to Phoebe. Phoebe was wearing these last night!"

Ross stared at her for a moment. "Y-you think that Phoebe and Joey.."

"Yes! I mean, why else would they both just take off? Joey just told us that he hooked up with someone, and then he got all secretive about it when I asked him who it was! I think it was Phoebe!"

Ross gave a short chuckle. "Come on, Rach.. I'm sure that's not what happened. I mean, Phoebe's married!"

"Well, she might have! I mean, yesterday, while her and Monica and I were getting ready for the wedding, all she could talk about was how mad she was at Mike for not being there! He blew her off for some gig in town, again."

Ross thought about it for a moment. "Well..do you think we should ask her?"

"Oh no, she'd never tell us." Rachel pointed out. "But if something did happen here, we'll get it out of them! Mark my word! We got it out of Monica and Chandler, and we'll get it out of them!"

Ross nodded in agreement. "Right, I'm sure they won't be as hard to crack. Especially Joey. You know, it's kinda nice not being the last one to know, this time."

Rachel grinned at him. "We'll worry about it later. Come on, let's go get breakfast."

She took Ross's hand and they headed to the elevator to go downstairs.

Once Phoebe returned to the hotel, from going home to change into normal clothes, she just sat outside in her cab for a moment. She sighed, resting her forhead on the steering wheel. Normally, she would have been angry to come home and find the Mike still wasn't home from the night before. Even though she'd got a text message from him saying he wasn't going to be home. But who was she to be angry with him after what she had done? And besides, part of her was glad he wasn't there so that she didn't have to face him. She didn't know if she could. She was glad Joey agreed to be there when she told him, to make it easier. Although, she was worried about him. She would be sure that Mike knew that none of it was Joey's fault. He might have kissed her first, but she was the one flirting with him all night. "God, what was I thinking? Why did I have to act like such a drunken idiot!?" she muttered to herself. "Why Joey, of all people?" she wondered. They had been friends for a very long time, and although she'd always found him attractive, she had never thought of him in that way, before now.

Phoebe suddenly reminded herself that she was supposed to be with all her friends right now, and that meant she had to try and pretend that nothing was wrong. With a groan,  
she got out of her car and walked back into the hotel. When she reached the restaurant, she saw Ross and Rachel were already there and went over to join there table. She  
put on a fake smile.

"Hey, you two!"

"Pheebs! There you are!" Rachel said. "We've been looking all over for you! You didn't come back last night!"

Phoebe was about to explain herself, when Chandler and Monica arrived.

"Morning, guys." Monica said. They both looked tired, and slightly hungover, because they had stayed and partied at the reception, unlike Phoebe.

"Pheebs, where have you been?" Chandler asked her. "I was so worried last night after you left!"

"Yeah...and as you should be!" Phoebe told him.

"So, where DID you run off to, last night, Phoebe?" Ross asked her.

Phoebe paused, as she realized everyone was looking at her, waiting for an answer. "Well, I went...to the hospital. To make sure I didn't have internal bleeding or  
something. That last thing I needed was to drop dead on the dance floor, thanks to Chandler!"

"Well, I'm glad you're ok, Pheebs." Monica told her.

"So am I. Although I must say, if you had died, it would have made quite the interesting story. I can just see it: 'Champagne corks recalled, all across the country after a woman is fatally wounded!'"

"Oh, Ha-ha!" Phoebe said, shooting him a glare across the table. "Yes, let's all make jokes about people dying of head injuries, just like my mom did! Well..her's was self-inflicted, but still!"

'Nicely played, Phoebe.' she thought.

"Ok, ok..look, I really am sorry Pheebs." Chandler told her. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, now." she said, just as Joey finally arrived.

"Sorry I'm late, guys." He sat down next to Phoebe, because it was the only seat left.  
Phoebe began to feel uneasy, knowing that they both shared a secret that none of the others knew about. She hoped she could  
keep it that way.

"Hey, Joe. What happened to you last night, man?" Chandler asked him. "You kind of just disappeared. Don't tell me you got hit in the face with a cork, too?"

"Actually," Rachel piped up, suddenly. "Joey hooked up with somebody last night!"

"What?" Monica asked, with interest. "With who?"

Phoebe felt her heart jump a little. She turned to Joey. "Yeah, with who?" she asked, so that no one would suspect anything.

Joey gave a shrug. "Just some girl I met last night.."

"'Just some girl', huh?" Rachel said. " So, was she really worth ditching two of your best friend's wedding for, Joe?"

"Yeah, was she cute, at least?" Monica asked.

Joey began playing with his napkin, uncomfortably. He cleared his throat. "As a matter of fact, she was very cute." He glanced at Phoebe for  
a brief moment. "She was...smoking hot, actually. Like, a 12."

Phoebe covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her smile.

"Wow..that IS pretty hot." Rachel went on. "So, tell us more about her, Joe. What'd she look like?"

"Yeah, come on! We need details, Joey." Ross agreed.

"Yeah, steamy details! We wanna hear everything!" Rachel said. Clearly, these two were enjoying this a little too much. Phoebe waited nervously, for Joey's answer.

He didn't say anything for a moment. "Uhm...you know, I don't think this is exactly breakfast table discussion." He stood up, to go and get some food from the buffet.

"Yeah!" Phoebe said, quickly. "I agree! You guys are all a bunch of pervs!"

"You alright there, Phoebe?" Rachel asked her. "You look a little flush..is something wrong?"

Phoebe felt her face warming even more. "No..not at all." she said, and quickly stood up to join Joey at the buffet. She didn't like the way Rachel had asked that.

'She doesn't know..' she assured herself. 'How could she?'

She was still distracted, after she had absent-mindedly put some food on her plate and returned back to the table with the others.

"Pheebs, what's wrong?" she heard Monica ask.

She suddenly snapped out of it. "Well, I wanted a...scone. But they're all gone." she told her, off the top of her head. She looked down at Joey's plate, which held twice as much food as anybody else's, of course. He had three scones.

"Well, no wonder they're all gone!" she said.

Joey stopped eating for a second and looked up. "Huh? Oh...sorry, Pheebs, I didn't know you wanted one. Here, we can share one, if you want."

He picked one up. She took the other end of it and as they were about to break it in half, Phoebe noticed that it suddenly got dead quiet at their table, as everyone stopped eating and stared.

"What?" Joey asked.

"Joey, are you...did you just share your food with her?" Rachel asked.

Joey paused, hesitantly. "I...uh..." he quickly grabbed the scone back from her. "That's mine! What do you think you're doing!?" he said in an angry tone.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Phoebe said, playing along. "How foolish of me to think that you would want to share..."

Chandler stared on, in a confused way. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah." Phoebe and Joey both answered.

Phoebe placed her hand over her head. "I guess I'm still a bit light headed, from being assaulted with a cork last night!"

Chandler rolled his eyes and eventually, everyone went back to eating. The conversation went back to the wedding.  
Phoebe had started to eat her breakfast, when she felt Joey's hand nudge her under the table. She looked down and saw that  
he was giving her the scone, while everyone was distracted. She couldn't help but smile when she looked up at him. He smiled back  
and gave her a wink. 'Wow...I think this might be the sweetest thing he's ever done!' she thought.

After everyone was finished eating, they all started to get up to leave.

"We've gotta go pick up Emma from my parent's house." Ross told them.

"Yeah, we left the twins with the nanny, so we'd better go, too. Are you coming with us, Joe?" Monica asked, as Joey was staying at their house until Sunday, when he was leaving for L.A. again.

"Uhm..yeah, I'll meet you guys back there. I still gotta check out and everything."

"Alright. What are you doing, Pheebs?"

Phoebe sighed. "Going to track down my husband, so I can yell at him, I guess. Do you guys wanna meet up for coffee, later?"

"Yeah, sure. At Starbucks, right?" Chandler said, and laughed when Monica gave him an annoyed look.

"Yeah, good idea, Pheebs. See you guys in a few hours." Ross told them, waving as he and Rachel took off.

Phoebe said good-bye to everyone else and headed towards the door, when Joey caught up to her and put his hand on her arm to stop her.

"Hey, Pheebs...I uh..I think we need to talk." he said, quietly.

Phoebe looked around, seeing that Monica and Chandler hadn't left yet. She was still worried about the suspicious way Rachel had been acting.

"Yeah, we do...but, not right now."

"Alright, can you meet me down in the lobby in like, 15 minutes?"

Phoebe nodded. "Ok.."

"Good. See you then." he said, and took off.

A/N - sorry this chapter is kind of short. More to come soon, though! Please review! :)


	6. Tough Decisions

Joey sat down on the leather sofa in the hotel lobby. Ross, Rachel, Monica and Chandler had already checked out and left. Joey had also checked out of his room, and now he was waiting for Phoebe. He sat there, nervously wringing his hands together in his lap and let out a deep breath. He didn't know what he was going to say to her. He just knew that things were already starting to get weird between them. As if it wasn't already difficult for him to be around Phoebe. But all throughout breakfast, he couldn't stop thinking about how great it would be if they were a couple. It would be so perfect. He loved her so much, and all he wanted to do was make her happy. And right now,she wasn't happy, and it was his fault for letting his feelings get in the way of things. '_I wish it hadn't happened like this..'_ he thought.

He was so busy being mad at himself that he didn't see Phoebe approach him. He looked up with a start when she cleared her throat.

"Hey." she said, as she sat down in the chair next to him.

"Hey.." he replied. He still didn't know where to begin or what to say.

"Hey, uhm..do Ross or Rachel know?"

Joey gave her a puzzled look. "Uh...no? At least, I don't think they do. They were asking a lot of questions this morning, but I didn't tell them anything. Why, did you?"

"No." Phoebe said. "I just...thought that was what you were going to ask me. But they don't know, right? I mean how could they?"

"Right." Joey agreed. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Uhm...look, Phoebe. I just...wanted to ask you..." he swallowed hard and made himself look her in the eye. "Is there...uhm.. are we ok? I mean..we're still friends, right? Nothing has changed?"

Phoebe tilted her head, sympathetically. She reached over and patted his shoulder. "Of course, Joey. I mean, yeah..maybe things are kinda  
messed up and weird, right now, but...we'll get through it. We'll always be friends. You know that."

Joey gave a half smile. He was relieved to hear her say that. "Alright..just thought I'd make sure."

Phoebe started to get up to leave.

"So, uhm.." Joey said, rising to his feet as well. "Are you planning to tell Mike soon? Not that I'm rushing you or anything.."

"Oh. Well...actually, uhm..I think...that I've changed my mind. I'm just not going to tell him, so...he won't know."

Joey furrowed his brow. "Really? Pheebs, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Well...yeah. I think." she paused and gave an uneasy sigh. "I want to tell him, Joey. But I know that it would hurt him. And what he doesn't know, can't hurt him, right?"

"But what about you?"

Phoebe shrugged. "What _about_ me?"

"Well, you said yourself that you couldn't live with yourself not telling him. Pheebs, I know you. You always do what's right. If you don't tell him it'll drive you crazy, and you guys are already having problems."

"Ugh...I know," Phoebe said with a groan, as she slowly sat back down in the chair, placing her head in her hands. "We are having problems, but...I still have faith in our relationship. I keep telling myself that him not being around is not that big of a deal, and it's something we can fix, you know? But this...this is huge! Joey, if I told him right now, it would ruin everything!"

Joey just stood there, not knowing what to say, even though he didn't agree with her idea. Phoebe looked up at him momentarily and sighed before she glanced away.

"I know it sounds dumb, but...you wouldn't understand."

After a moment, Joey sat back down in the chair beside her. "Well..you're right. I don't know anything about being married. But I do know what it's like to be in love with someone who doesn't love you back.." he mumbled, as he stared down at the floor.

"You mean Rachel?" Phoebe asked, innocently. "Sweetie, I thought you were over her."

Joey couldn't help but give a short laugh, because she didn't have any idea that he meant her.

"I am.." he told her. He wanted to just come right out and say it, but he didn't think now was a good time.  
Not after everything that happened last night. It would just further upset her. But he hated keeping it to himself like this. It was driving him crazy. "Anyways.." Joey said, changing the subject. "Phoebe, in the end it's your decision. But if I was you, I'd tell him. Because if you don't, it's just going to eat away at you and make you more unhappy than you already are!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes at him. "You make it sound like it's so easy. Just 'tell him' that I basically destroyed our marriage last night!"

Joey exhaled, his stomach sinking a little, with guilt. '_She's not the one who destroyed it, I am._' he thought.

"Look, Joey.." she began, in a calmer tone. "What's done is done. And I don't know why I...well, I wasn't thinking clearly, at the time. We both weren't. But the best thing we can do right now is just move on, and pretend it never happened, ok?"

"Pheebs...I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, I don't want you to end up getting hurt!"

"I won't!" Phoebe argued. "I mean..I'll deal with it. And why do you care so much, anyways?"

"Because, I love you." Joey froze, in disbelief of what just came out of his mouth. He hadn't meant to say it, it just slipped out. He stared at her, nervously waiting for her reaction. But she didn't seem to get what he meant at first.

"Awh, Joey, that's sweet." she said with a smile.

"No..that's not what I meant.."

Phoebe's smile dropped once she realized what he was saying. "Oh...Y-you mean you...you _love-_love me. Is that what you're saying? Oh. I see. Oh, dear.."

Joey didn't know what to say. Neither of them said anything for several seconds as Phoebe just stared off into space, trying to process this.

She turned in her chair to face him. "Since when?"

Joey raised his shoulders. "I dunno."

Phoebe gave him a look that told him she wasn't impressed with that answer. He took a deep breath.

"For a while..I guess. The truth is, I think I've always loved you, Phoebe. But I didn't realize how bad it was until recently. I wanted to tell you. I almost told you last night but..uh, things got out of hand. Look, I know that now probably isn't the time to be telling you this, but..it's true."

"But..Joey, didn't you already go through this with Rachel? I mean...you thought you were in love with her, but it didn't work out? I mean, maybe this is the same kind of thing. I kinda vaguely remember you telling me last night that it bothered you to see all of us getting married."

Joey shook his head. "It's not like that, Pheebs..I mean, yeah..it is kind of like the thing with Rachel, but it's different, too. I don't know how to explain it. All I know is that I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I moved away. And asking myself why I didn't snatch you up when I still had the chance, you know?" He gave her a half-smile, before he glanced down at the floor again. "I got over Rachel pretty easily. I mean, I knew that she and Ross belonged together. And I realized that we were too close of friends to be anything more."

"Uhm...hello?" Pheoebe made a gesture to herself, indicating that she was in the same situation.

"I know..." he sighed. "Look, I know that I'm too late. And I keep trying not to think of you in that way, but...and last night, you just looked so beautiful. And when you started talking about Mike, and everything...Look, I knew I shouldn't have let things get out of hand like that. I knew I should have stopped. But...I just thought, 'This might be the only chance I'll ever get to be with her'. And I know how bad that sounds, but I don't mean it like that. What I did was stupid, and selfish, and.." Joey stopped to take a breath, and slowly let it out. He thought telling her this would make him feel better, but the more he talked, the worse he felt. "Pheebs, I'm really sorry. About everything. I just want to fix this for you. That's the least I can do. You love Mike..and you belong with him, not me. Please. Let me fix this. I'll tell him for you. I'll tell him everything."

Phoebe started to shake her head. "No, Joey, I can't let you do that...Do you realize, that if he knew all of this, even if we did stay together, our friendship would be over? There's no way he'd be ok with it. I might never see you again."

"Ok, but what if somewhere down the road, he finds out?"

"How would he?"

Joey shrugged. "I don't know..someone else finds out and tells him? Or more likely, you can't deal with keeping it a secret anymore, and you just tell him yourself. Don't you think he'd be more understanding if you just told him now, and got it over with? Look, Pheebs...this is still fixable. You guys can work this out, and everything else. Go to marriage counseling, and live the happy, married life, that I know you both want. And if he doesn't want you to see me anymore, well...you gotta do what you gotta do to make it work, right? He's your husband,  
and you love him."

"Joey, I can't tell him." She said again. "I know that maybe it'll make things harder for myself, but..I'll deal with it. I mean, it's better than me having to lose you. Or him."

Joey opened his mouth to argue with her, but he stopped himself. He gave another shrug. "Alright. If you don't want to tell him, it's your choice, I guess. But, if you change your mind.."

Phoebe nodded, without saying anything. She slowly rose to her feet, and so did Joey. When he did, she put her arms around him, tightly. Joey held her as tight as he could, for at least a minute, wishing he didn't have to let her go. But eventually, he did.

"I'll, uh.. I'll see you later, ok?" she said. She turned around and started walking away.

"Hey, Pheebs?"

She turned back to him.

"I was just wondering...uhm.." Joey shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, and shook his head. "Nothing. Forget it."

"What?"

"Well...it's just...if you weren't already married to Mike..do you think maybe you'd be interested in..y'know, being with me instead?"

Phoebe thought about it for a second or two before a grin spread across her lips. "Yeah, I would. In a heartbeat."

Joey couldn't help but smile back. He nodded. "Alright...I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Bye."

After she was gone, Joey felt his cellphone in his pocket and took it out, staring at it for several minutes. He scrolled through his contacts and found Phoebe and Mike's house number. His thumb hovered hesitantly over the call button. 'Don't do it.' he thought. But he couldn't stand the thought of letting Phoebe make a poor decision that would more than likely just come back to haunt her later on, when Joey wasn't there to do anything to help her. 'Don't do it. Just walk away...'

Joey sighed. He put his phone back in his pocket and walked out of the hotel. He stopped walking and looked at his phone again. Finally, he made up his mind what he should do. "I'm sorry Phoebe.." he muttered. "It's for your own good. I just want you to be happy." He knew she was going to hate him for this. He pushed the button. It rang a few times. Joey almost hung up when he heard Mike's voice answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mike? It's Joey. Look, uh..do you think I could meet up with you to talk about something? It's kinda important."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be home for the next hour or two. You could come by the apartment. You remember where we live, right?"

"Yeah, yeah...I'll stop by in a few minutes."

"Great. See you then."


	7. The Truth Comes Out

Phoebe was still trying to let everything sink in as she drove home. She still couldn't believe what she had heard Joey say.  
_'He loves me. Joey loves me. My friend, Joey, who I've known forever. Who I hooked up with, last night...why couldn't he_  
_have told me this years ago?'_ she wondered. If all of this had happened before she met Mike, Phoebe probably would have  
been thrilled to hear him say that.

She finally reached her apartment building, and saw that Mike's vehicle was there. "Great.." she muttered, as she realized that  
she would have to face him, after all. But somehow, that seemed like the least of her worries. She looked at herself in the rear  
view mirror. "Just act natural. It'll be ok.." she said, trying to make herself believe these words. She closed her eyes, and took  
a deep breath, trying to push everything that had happened, last night, and today from her mind, so that Mike wouldn't suspect  
anything.

When she got to her apartment, and walked in, she heard Mike talking on the phone with someone. Probably one of his music friends, or  
his boss. He was standing in the kitchen, with his back to her, as she took off her coat and hung it up.

"Hi." she said to him, as he walked right past her, not even noticing her.

"Great, see you then." Mike said and hung up. He finally turned around to acknowledge her.

"Hey. Sorry, sweetie I was on the phone. How was the wedding?" he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Pretty good. It was a lot of fun, except for when Chandler hit me with-"

"Oh, guess what!" Mike said, interrupting her. "I might have a case down in Pittsburgh next week."

"Huh.." Phoebe said, trying not to sound annoyed. "In Pittsburgh?"

"Yeah, for an old client of mine who really wanted to hire me again. I haven't said for sure if I'd take the case yet, but if I did,  
I'd be gone for a few days."

"Oh.."

Mike looked at her. "Is that not ok? I mean, I didn't think we had other plans or anything. Plus, we could use the money."

"No, no, it's fine..it wouldn't be anything new." she muttered.

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"No, why would there be?" she replied, quickly.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Christ, don't tell me you're still mad at me because I couldn't make it to the wedding. Phoebe, I told you, I'm sorry. But there was  
no way I could get out of this gig!"

"Uh-huh.." Phoebe said. They had already had this conversation earlier, and she didn't feel like going through it again. She went over to the fridge,  
taking out a bottle of water.

Mike followed her, placing his hands on her shoulders from behind her. "Phoebe...come on. I'll make it up to you, I promise. After this Pittsburgh case is over.  
Maybe we can take Ross and Rachel out for dinner some place nice, since I couldn't be there."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. He was always doing that. Making promises that didn't fall through. If they made plans, more than likely, something else would come up at the last minute, and he'd have to bail out, again. When she didn't respond, she heard Mike give an exhasperated sigh. She turned around, sensing that this was about to turn into a fight between them. That was the last thing she needed to deal with, right now.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." she said, casually. "Go to Pittsburgh. We'll do something when you come back." She gave him a small reassuring smile.

He looked more concerned than annoyed, now. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, why?"

She stood nervously as Mike studied her face for a few seconds. Finally, he shook his head. "Alright.."

He walked away as Phoebe finished her water and set the bottle down on the counter. "Anyways..I'm going to go meet everyone at Central Perk. Do you wanna come?"

Mike had already picked up his phone again. He glanced over his shoulder. "Huh?...Oh, no. You go ahead, sweetie. I've got a few more calls to make here."

Phoebe shook her head, when his back was turned again. "Why do I even bother to ask?" she thought. She grabbed her purse and keys off the counter, and put her coat back on. "Ok...I won't be too late. I love you!"

She looked at Mike and saw that as usual, he wasn't listening. He was pressing buttons on the phone. She was getting so tired of this..as she reached for the door handle, she froze. With her hand on the door knob, she turned around, looking at her husband, again.

"Mike?"

"Hmm?" He looked at her.

She paused, hesitantly. "You love me, right?"

Mike smiled, as he put the phone down. "Of course I do, Phoebe. Why else do you think I married you?"

He walked over, and put his hands on her waist. Pulling her in for a kiss. This was the first time he'd really kissed her in so long. She put her arms around him,  
holding him tightly, and feeling conflicted at that moment.

Mike kissed her on the forehead, and pulled back. "Tell you what. Let's go out for dinner tonight when you get back. Just us. Anywhere you want to go."

"Really? Are you sure you're not too busy?"

"Nah. We haven't had a night out in forever. Why, are _you_ too busy?"

"No." She said. "No, I'd love to go."

"Great. Go have fun with your friends, and I'll make us a reservation for , say 8:30? How bout that nice vegetarian restaurant you've been wanting to try?"

Phoebe smiled. "Alright." she gave him another kiss. '_This is the man I married.'_ she thought. '_Why can't he be like this more often?'_

Mike kissed her once again. "I love you, Phoebe."

"I love you, too." she said. "See you in a bit!"

She headed out of the building, feeling so many mixed emotions. '_Maybe Joey is right..'_ she thought. '_Maybe Mike and I can fix this. We really are a good couple, when we're not fighting or avoiding each other...but that's not very often.'_ It didn't help that she still felt horrible about the night before. '_Joey was right about that, too.'_ She thought as she went down the stairs of her building. '_Not telling him IS harder than I thought..but I can't.'_

Phoebe was the first of her friends to arrive at Central Perk. She ordered herself a hot tea and sat down on the orange couch, to save it while she waited for the others. She wasn't sure if Joey would be coming or not. She was nervous about seeing him after their conversation this morning. She started thinking about back when Joey was crushing on Rachel, and Monica had told her that it was her. Phoebe was so disappointed when she learned that it wasn't. She felt so conflicted about her feelings for Joey right now. She loved him, as a friend. They had always been very close friends. If Joey had wanted to be more than friends, back before Mike was in the picture, Phoebe definitely would have agreed to it. "God this is all getting so complicated..." she muttered.

As she sat there, lost in her jumble of thoughts, someone appeared beside her in the corner of the her eye.

"Hey, Pheebs."

"Oh, hi, Rach. I didn't see you come in. Where's Ross?"

"Oh, he's on his way. He's putting Emma to bed. Mrs. Lewis from across the hall is going to watch her for a bit while we're here. I hate to say it, but you should be glad you and Mike don't have kids yet." Rachel said with a laugh.

Phoebe took a sip of her tea. "Yeah, I think you're right about that.." she muttered.

Rachel looked at her, with a serious expression. "Oh, sweetie, are you and Mike fighting again?"

"Pff...when are we not fighting, these days?" Phoebe replied, rolling her eyes. "It's getting ridiculous! You know, this is not what I signed up for, with this whole marriage thing..if I knew that it was going to suck this much, I would have stayed single!"

"Oh, don't worry Pheebs. I mean, sometimes newly weds go through rough patches in the beginning, but it'll blow over. You'll see. And if it doesn't, well..there's plenty of fish in the sea, right?" Rachel laughed again.

"Yeah..like, who?" Phoebe asked.

Rachel gave a casual shrug. "Well, like, I dunno...Joey, for example."

Phoebe looked up from her cup, suspiciously. If Rachel knew something, like Phoebe suspected she did, she wanted to know.

"Joey?" she repeated.

"Well, he IS single." Rachel pointed out. "And he's handsome. He's a major sweetheart.. don't tell Ross I said so, but he's a really good kisser. Besides, the two of you have always had sort of a special friendship, am I right?"

Phoebe cleared her throat, nervously. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's just you've always hit it off with Joey. You guys are a lot alike, in a way. To tell the truth, I always thought you two would have ended up together, before you met Mike. I mean, you're always flirting with him."

"Well...yeah, but that's just..y'know, goofing around." Phoebe told her. Her face was burning a little now. "I don't really mean anything by it. Joey's my friend. My BEST friend. No offense to you guys."

Rachel smirked, as she studied Phoebe's face, making her even more uncomfortable. "Hm. It's just..the way you two were looking at each other, last night.."

"What? No we weren't!"

"You totally were. Maybe you didn't notice, but I saw. He kept sneaking peeks at you, the whole time, and you were doing the same. You know..if I didn't know any better, I'd think you guys were doing it."

Phoebe couldn't take it anymore. She let out a gasp. "How did you know!?"

"Ah-HA!" Rachel cried, pointing an accusing finger at her. "I didn't know! But I found your earring in his room!"

"_That's_ where it got to!" Phoebe muttered. She looked at Rachel, who looked slightly shocked.

"Oh my God. Pheebs, you really slept with Joey last night?"

Phoebe sighed. She set her cup down on the coffee table. "I know it sounds bad. It IS bad. I feel terrible, alright? So don't judge me, Rachel! And you cannot tell Mike about this!"

"You're not going to tell him?" Rachel said in disbelief.

"No!...I can't. You don't understand. It's more complicated than you think!"

"Complicated, how?"

Phoebe hesitated. Talking to Rachel about it might help. After all, she had been through the same situation with Joey.

"Joey likes me. That's what he told me today."

Rachel's eyes widened. "Like..._like_-likes you?"

"Well, actually, he said that he _loves_ me, but yeah. He said that he has for a while."

"Huh.." Rachel said, thoughtfully. "He seems to have a habit for falling in love with his friends, doesn't he? So...what are you going to do?"

Phoebe shrugged. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, how do you feel about Joey? I mean, after last night and everything?"

Phoebe gave a smirk. "Well, I'm not going to lie, he _was_ pretty good in bed.."

"No, I don't mean _that_!" Rachel told her.

"Oh. Well..I don't know. I mean, I love Joey, but...I don't know that I _love_-love him, y'know? I'm just worried about Mike finding out. I know that we're having problems, but I do love Mike, too. I don't want to lose him, but I don't want to lose Joey, either. Rachel I don't know what to do.."

Phoebe exhaled. Rachel leaned back in her seat, silently as she thought it over for a minute or two. She looked at Phoebe. "You know what I would do, Pheebs? I'd just go with what feels right. Trust your instincts on this one. I mean, does it really feel right to keep this from Mike?"

"Well..no." Phoebe admitted.

"Then tell him!"

"But..what if he leaves me?"

Rachel shrugged. "Well..then you have Joey. Phoebe, you know how you're always saying that everything happens for a reason? I hate to say it, but..maybe the reason you and Mike have been having such a hard time, is because he's not the guy you're supposed to be with."

Phoebe scoffed. "And you think Joey is? Come on, Rachel. Me and Joey?"

"Yeah! Why not? Pheebs, he told you he loves you. And I think it's safe to say that you feel a little something for him too. If you ask me, you're just holding back, because Mike is still in the picture."

"Oh that is such a load of crap! You don't know who I like and who I don't!"

"But I know that you're not that type of girl that just randomly sleeps with guys, while she's married, Pheebs. If you were, I mean..there were a ton of cute, single guys at that wedding you had to choose from. Really cute, I have a cousin who models for Calvin Klein, who I'm pretty sure is on the market. And you chose to sleep with Joey Tribbiani."

Phoebe considered this, and realized that it made sense. "Huh. Fair point.."

Rachel placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, sympathetically. "Sweetie, I know that you care about Mike, and you don't want to hurt him, but if there is something between you and Joey, then you need to tell him. It would be better for everyone, that way."

Phoebe nodded, even though she was still unsure. She was still afraid of telling Mike the truth. Maybe she would tonight, over dinner. Maybe not..it all depended on whether she could work up the courage to. She sighed again. "I'll think about it, Rach. I don't want to make things worse, but I'm also not handling all of this drama very well, you know? I mean, that's usually your department."

Rachel smiled, scrunching her nose. "Gee, thanks. Although it is true. Oh, I see Ross, and Monica and Chandler coming." She said, looking past Phoebe to the window outside.

"Don't tell them anything!" Phoebe said quickly. "I mean it, Rachel!"

"Alright, my lips are sealed, Pheebs.."

"They better be." Phoebe said in a threatening tone. She knew how Rachel loved to gossip, and how hard it was for her to keep Monica and Chandler's relationship a secret when she first found out.

"Hey, ladies." Monica said, as her and the other two entered the coffee shop. She joined them on the couch, while the boys took the chairs.

"Pheebs, where's Joey? I thought he'd be here by now." Ross asked her.

Phoebe looked up. "How should I know where Joey is? What am I, his wife?" she glanced at Rachel, suddenly.

"Uhm..I don't know where he is, either, babe. Why don't you try calling him?" she suggested, attempting to change the subject.

"Ah, I'm sure he'll turn up." Chandler said.

After everyone ordered a drink, they all chatted, for quite some time. Mostly, still about the wedding. About Ross and Rachel's honeymoon plans to go to France, and as usual, about their lives, and their kids. Phoebe was grateful that the subject of her and Joey didn't come up, again. About an hour went by, and Joey still hadn't showed up.

"I wonder where Joey took off to." Ross said, again. "It's been so long since all six of us have been here together, I was hoping he'd show."

"Well, maybe he's with the girl that he hooked up with at the wedding, again." Monica suggested.

Rachel laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, I'm pretty sure he's not."

Phoebe jabbed her with her elbow to remind her to keep quiet.

"Or...he's maybe he's still tired from last night. He's probably just taking a nap." Rachel said, taking the hint from Phoebe.

"Well, now that you mention it, I'm kind of wiped, too." Chandler said. "Taking care of twin babies while nursing a hangover will do that to you.. You ready to take off, Mon?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I hope we get a change to come back here before Joey leaves in a few days. You know, I really do miss having him around. So much of my food goes to waste without him here." She stood up, and put on her jacket. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, and I actually have a date with my husband tonight, believe it or not. Mike is taking me out." Phoebe said, as she rose to her feet as well. "So I'll see you all in the morning as well."

After everybody said their good-byes, Phoebe left, and drove home.

When she walked into her apartment, she didn't see Mike anywhere. "Mike? I'm home!" she called as she made her way to her room to get ready for their date tonight. When started to walk through the living room,  
she stopped dead in her tracks. Joey was here. And Mike. She didn't have to ask any questions, she could just tell by the look on Mike's face when he looked at her that he knew. He probably just found out moments before she got there. He was sitting on the couch, and Joey was sitting in a chair across from him. Phoebe couldn't speak at first. She couldn't believe this was happening. She looked from Mike to Joey.

"You told him?" she managed to say, in a quiet voice.

Mike was just sitting there. She could see that he was upset, but he wasn't saying anything. He wouldn't even look at her.

"Mike..." she began to try to explain. "I'm...I'm really sorry, ok? It just...it was a huge mistake, and I...I'm.."

"Just stop." Mike said. He rose to his feet. He stepped towards her. "I don't want to hear it. I'm just so disappointed in you, Phoebe. I didn't think that you were the kind of person who would just do  
something like this."

"I'm not." Phoebe said, and immediately realized it was the wrong thing to say. "Look, Mike..it was.."

Mike gave a laugh. "You're _not_!?" he repeated, raising his voice.

Joey stood up. "Mike, look, it wasn't her fault."

Mike turned towards him. "Oh, I'm sure it wasn't! What did you do, drug her first?"

"Mike, stop!" Phoebe said. "It IS my fault, ok? Don't get mad at Joey! I was the one who initiated it! And I'm sorry!"

"Oh, well that's good!" Mike snapped, as he took a step forward, so he was standing inches from her face. "Sorry fixes everything, doesn't it!? I guess we can just go back to being a perfectly happy married couple, right!? How long has this been going on!?"

"This was the only time. I swear..." she said. "Mike..I know you're mad right now but...please try to understand. It just sort of happened, ok? And you know what? Maybe if you had been there, it wouldn't have happened!"

Mike chuckled. "Oh. I see. THAT's what this is about!? The fact that I didn't go to your friend's stupid wedding with you!? So that's your solution!? That's how you get back at me for one little thing like that!? You go and screw someone else!? Wow, Phoebe...that's really classy of you, isn't it!? I can't believe you have the nerve to be so stupid!"

Phoebe was scared. She had never seen him so angry before. She just wanted to be somewhere else right now.

"Mike," she heard Joey say. "Stop yelling at her, alright?"

"You know what!? Why don't you just stay the hell out of this, Joey!? I'll talk to my wife however I want!"

"Not while I'm standing here, you won't!" Joey said, as he stepped between her and Mike.

"Well then why don't you get the fuck out!?" Mike said, and gave him a shove backwards.

Joey regained his balance, and shoved Mike back, harder. Phoebe moved quickly to step between the two of them.

"Hey! Stop it! Both of you!" she yelled.

Mike kept glaring at Joey. "I think you need to leave." he looked at Phoebe. "And I think YOU better go with him!"

"What? But..this is my house! YOU leave!"

Mike shook his head. "You know what? Fine! I'm out of here."

He went towards the door, stopping to grab his jacket and his car keys, and at that moment, Phoebe realized that he might never come back.

"Mike?" Phoebe said, following him to the door. "I'm sorry..please don't go. Mike!"

She jolted, when he walked out the door and slammed it hard behind him. She stood, frozen in front of the door, as tears began spilling from her eyes. Joey walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Pheebs...Look, I'm-"

She turned around, facing him. "How could you do this!? How could you tell him, after I told you not to! How dare you just come in here, and...and ruin my life! You're supposed to be my friend!"

"I didn't mean to, Phoebe. I'm sorry! I was only trying to help! Pheebs.." Joey put his hand on her arm, trying to comfort her, but she yanked it away.

"Joey, just do me a favor, and don't ever try to help me again, ok!?"

Joey stood there for a few moments, not saying anything. "Phoebe, please.."

"Just go away, ok!? Just leave me alone!" she cried, and sat down on the couch, cradling her head in her hands.

She heard nothing for about a minute, but she knew Joey was still there. Finally, she heard the door open, and close quietly as he finally left. She sat there, feeling alone, as she let the tears fall from her eyes.

AN: I appreciate everyone reading this and giving me feedback! Thank you so much! :) Kinda busy these days but I'll try to have the next chapter up soon! Please let me know what you think of this chapter! :D


	8. Two friends reunited

Rachel carried Emma into Central Perk, sitting down with her in her lap on the couch. The little girl was fast asleep, with her head on her shoulder. They had just got back from Phoebe's place. Rachel hadn't heard from her since their conversation about Mike and Joey. Phoebe wasn't answering her phone, or speaking to anyone, so Rachel wanted to know what was up. She found Phoebe in her apartment, hiding under her duvet on her bed, which was covered in used tissue papers. She looked like she had been there for a while. Phoebe told her she didn't want to talk, at first. But Rachel had managed to coax everything out of her, as she had filled her in one Joey telling Mike about the wedding, and Mike leaving. After they talked for a good hour or so Rachel had tried to convince her to stop moping around and join her down at Central Perk, to get her out of the house, but it didn't work, and she was still up in her apartment, waiting for Mike to call or come home.

Rachel decided to go to the coffee shop, anyways. Ross would be home from work, soon and she thought maybe Monica, Chandler or Joey would be there, as she was curious of how Joey was taking all of this. Ross eventually did show up, stopping in after work, and Monica and Chandler, soon after, but no sign of Joey.

"Hey." they said, quietly, noticing Emma was asleep. They joined her on the couch, as usual.

"There's my girls! I missed you." Ross said, and bent down to give Rachel a kiss before he sat down beside her. He took Emma from her, careful not to wake her up.

"Hey guys," Rachel said to Chandler and Monica. "Where's Joey?"

"He's at our house, watching the twins. He didn't feel like coming." Monica said. "He seems really depressed about something. Do you think it has something to do  
with him and Phoebe?"

Rachel turned to Ross, with a look of disapproval. "Ross, you told Monica? I told you about that in confidence!"

"Well, if it's any consolation, I told Chandler." Monica said.

"Great, so we all know." Rachel said. "But they don't know that we all kn-"

"Oh for the love of God, let's not do this again!" Chandler said.

"Ok, so..what do you guys think?" Rachel asked.

Monica shrugged. "I don't know, I mean...somehow I'm not all that surprised this happened. But for Phoebe's sake, I hope Mike doesn't  
find out."

"Actually, he did find out.." Rachel told her. "I talked to Phoebe earlier today. Joey told him."

"Oh no, " Ross said. "How'd he take it?"

"Well, about as good as you'd expect. He got mad, they had a fight, and he left."

"You mean, left for good, left?" Chandler asked.

Rachel raised her shoulders. "I'm not sure. She just said he left, and he's been gone for two days."

"Oh..wow. Poor Pheebs." Monica said, shaking her head. "No wonder Joey's been so down lately."

"Yeah, Phoebe's not even speaking to him."

"She's not?" Chandler said. "But he's leaving for L.A. tomorrow!"

"I know.." Rachel sighed, resting her chin in her hand. "It's not right for him to leave when they're on bad terms. I mean, they're usually so close! Plus, I don't know if you guys know, but he's got it bad for Phoebe right now."

Monica raised her eyebrows. "He does?" she and Chandler exchanged a glance. "Well, he failed to mention that to us."

"Yeah..I feel so sorry for him." Rachel said. She stared off in thought for a moment or two, and none of them said anything else, but Rachel could tell they were all thinking the same thing. She decided to go right ahead and say it. "Hey...what do you guys think would happen..you know, if they ended up together?"

"Joey and Pheebs?" Monica asked. She pondered for a moment.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "Honestly, I think it would be great! All six of us, together, you know?"

"Well, I mean, I use to think they would have been a great couple, before she met Mike, to be honest." Monica said.

Chandler nodded. "They're children would be either very strange, or very slow.." Monica gave shot him a glare. "But I'm sure they'd be cute, none the less."

"You know, I'm with you, Mon. They _would_ make a cute couple." Rachel turned to Ross. "Don't you think so, hon? I mean, Joey would be so good to her. I bet they'd be so happy together!"

Ross gave Rachel with a disapproving look. "Sweetie, you're not suggesting we set them up together, are you? Because I really don't think now is the time for that. You don't know that that's what they want."

"I wasn't suggesting that!" Rachel told them. "I was...kind of implying. You're right, though. But it would be nice if they were at least on speaking terms. I really do think they need to work this out. I mean, that we could arrange, right?"

Monica nodded in agreement. "You're right. They should at least talk it out. And I guess we'll see what happens from there. We could try and get them to talk. We just need to get them to run into each other some place. Like, say, here?"

"Yeah, good idea." Rachel agreed. "I tried to talk Phoebe into coming here earlier, but she wouldn't. Ross, she might listen to you. Why don't you go get her, while I put Emma to bed." she stood up, taking Emma from him.

"What am I supposed to say?" Ross asked, nervously.

"Just make up something good! And while you're doing that, Monica and Chandler can go and try to convince Joey to come down here."

"Which will be pretty easy." Chandler pointed out. "We'll just tell him that it's raining pepperoni or something."

Monica stood up, and clapped her hands in determination. "Ok, you guys. We can do this! Their friendship depends upon us!"

"Yes, Go team go! Listen to Coach Monica!" Chandler said, pumping his fists in the air. His smile faded as Monica gave him her usual unimpressed look she always did when he made fun of her.

He followed everyone out the door.

It was raining, and Phoebe had been in such a rush that she ran out the door without her jacket. This was an emergency. Ross had shown up at her apartment, frantically telling her that there were some kids out on the streets near Central Perk, shooting at small animals with a sling shot. Without a second of hesitation, Phoebe had ran out of her building, and ran all the way to Central Perk to stop those little jerks.  
She stopped in front of the doors of Central Perk, out of breath, but she saw no kids. No dead or injured animals. "Damn.." she muttered, thinking she must have been too late. She looked around and shivered. She decided that now that she was here, she might as well go in and get something warm to drink before she headed home again. When she turned around, she saw Joey walking towards her. He didn't seem to notice her at first, but when he did, he stopped dead in his tracks, a few feet away from her. Neither of the spoke for a few seconds. Seeing him just brought up a lot of feelings that Phoebe didn't want to feel right now. She turned around to leave, when he grabbed her arm. She turned her head away, refusing to address him. One thing she had always been good at, was giving people the silent treatment when she was angry with them.

"Phoebe, wait...Look, I get that you don't want to talk to me right now. But I really need to talk to you, so please, just listen to me for  
a second, ok? Please.."

Phoebe reluctantly turned to face him, giving him a chance to say what he needed to say, but saying nothing. He put his other hand on her other arm.

"God, you're freezing! Here, come inside." he said, and opened the door to Central Perk. She followed him to their usual spot on the couch.  
It occurred to her that this would be the first time they had sat on this couch and talked in what felt like a life time. She realized how much she  
missed this. Reminding herself to stay mad at him, she crossed her arms, and waited for him to speak.

"Are you ok, now? Do you want my jacket?" Joey asked her. He sighed when she didn't answer. "Alright, look, Pheebs...What I did was wrong. I know that now. But I was only trying to do what I thought was best for you and Mike. I just wanted to help, that's all. I mean I kinda figured he was going to be mad, but...I thought that he loved you enough to want to try to fix things with you. But I guess..." he paused, shaking his head. "I guess I'm just a big, stupid jerk, huh? I'm sorry, Phoebe. About everything. I wish things weren't so messed up for you right now. And I really am sorry about...you know.. what happened at the wedding. I wish it had never happened." he stopped to correct himself. "Well...not that it was bad. I just mean..all the other stuff. I mean, if it wasn't for the fact that you're married, it would have been perfect. Because I really do love you, you know? I love you so much that it hurts. And I wish that you loved me back, but I understand that you can't.." he let out a deep breath, and put his head down, staring at the floor. "Well...anyways, that's it. I just  
wanted you to know that, before I leave tomorrow. If you're still mad at me, well..I understand."

As he was talking, Phoebe could hear the sincerity, as well as the pain in his voice. She couldn't stand not speak to him any more.

"Mike wants a divorce.." she said after a moment.

Joey looked up at her. "Oh God, Pheebs...I'm sorry." He said, softly.

"He, uh...we talked." She went on, recalling the painful conversation she had earlier today, when Mike showed up at the apartment to get the rest of his stuff. It had been shortly after Rachel left. "But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He said that before we met, he was single for a long time, and that getting married was kind of scary for him at first. He also said that...he thinks that I have feelings for you. He thinks  
that I have for a long time. He says that we seem to have some sort of connection, you know? He's always noticed it..the way we are with each other. He thinks that we understand each other better than him and I ever have. And he said that he wants me to be happy. And he doesn't think he can make me as happy as he knows that you would. So..we're going to file for divorce, and that's that."

She paused, to catch the about-to-cry feeling that caught in her throat all of a sudden. This was really hard. Somehow, she had always known that her and Mike weren't perfect for each other. But she always wanted to believe that they were. She really had been trying so hard to keep their relationship held together, but now the fight was over, and she felt both relieved, and saddened. She realized Joey was still looking at her, with anticipation.

"So...what did you say?"

"I said that, um...that maybe he was right."

She watched his expression drop as he tried to process this. After a moment, he finally spoke. "So...are you saying that you...have feelings for me, too?"

Phoebe thought for a moment. "Yeah...I guess I am."

"Oh. Uhm...ok. Wow. So...you're not mad at me, then? I mean, we're cool, right?"

Phoebe smiled. "Yes, we're cool, Joey." she said.

Joey's eyes lit up with excitement. He grinned. "Wow...Phoebe, this is...you have no idea how happy it makes me, hearing you say that!"

Phoebe's smile disappeared. She suddenly felt sad again. Joey asked her what was wrong.

"I don't know. I'm happy, too, but...at the same time, I still feel bad for Mike, I guess." she told him. "Joey..don't take this the wrong way, but..I'm going to need some time to get over him."

Joey nodded. "Yeah, totally. I get that. He's your husband."

She took a deep breath. "I'm gonna miss him.."

"I know you are." Joey said. He put his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. He just held her close to him. The same way he did when David left her, and Phoebe just let him, resting her head on his shoulder. It felt so nice to be in his arms. She felt so safe, and loved. _This was meant to be_, she thought.

"Joey?" She said, still holding him. "Don't move back to L.A., ok? I mean..unless you really want to."

"Don't worry." he kissed her on the top of her head, before he let go. "I'm not going anywhere. Not now, anyways."

He hesitated for a few seconds before he put his hand on hers, squeezing it gently. He placed his other hand on her jaw line, and looked into her eyes. Phoebe's heart fluttered when he did. And even more when he kissed her, very softly. It was still pounding when he rested her forehead on hers for a moment, and pulled back. He cleared his throat, moving his hand off of hers.

"Sorry, I just...I really wanted to do that." He said.

Phoebe grinned. "It's ok. I kinda wanted you to."

Joey smiled back. "Well," he said after a few seconds. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. You wanna go grab some dinner somewhere? I'll pay." he added. "For yours too, I mean."

"You mean like a date?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah...kinda."

"Alright."

As they started to get up, Phoebe turned around and saw everyone. Ross, Rachel, Monica and Chandler, huddled together and smiling through the window. They all quickly scattered when they realized Phoebe and Joey could see them.

"Huh." Joey said. "I guess they know."

"Yeah." Phoebe agreed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think they set this up."

"_Our_ friends? Naahh..." Joey smiled.

When they went outside, they were still there, standing around, trying to act inconspicuous.

"Hi, guys." Joey said, over his shoulder.

"Hi!" they all answered.

Phoebe could still feel their eyes on them as they walked away. She folded her arms over herself, shivering slightly. She had already forgot how cold it was outside. It wasn't raining anymore, but the chill it left had settled into the air.

"You sure you don't want my jacket?" Joey asked her.

"No thanks, I'm ok." she said. "I'm used to the cold. I use to live on the streets, remember?"

But Joey didn't buy it. He stopped, took off his jacket and helped her into it.

"But now you'll be cold." Phoebe pointed out.

"I'll be ok." he assured her.

Phoebe smirked. _It's ok for me to enjoy this_./she told herself. _I mean, at least it's better than feeling sad.._

They reached an intersection and had to stop at the crosswalk. As they waited for the light to change. Joey turned to face her. "So where do you want to go? We can go anywhere you want."

Phoebe hesitated for a moment. She wasn't sure she should do this, but something inside of her kept telling her to. She reached out and took his hand. Joey smirked, automatically locking his fingers between hers. _Wow, this feels so perfect._ she thought. She smiled as she looked up at him.

"Mhmm, I dunno. You pick." She said, with a smile.

"Well, I don't really care, as long as it's with you. And as long as there's food. Do you wanna go to the Iridium?"

"Ooh! Yeah! Let's do that!" Phoebe agreed, with excitement, because this was the place they use to meet up on the weekends to talk and hang out.

"Alright, let's do it." Joey said. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You and me." he said, giving her a wink.

Their light finally changed, and they walked across the street, towards the subway station.

_This is so great._ she thought to herself. All things considered, she was so happy at that moment. She knew how dangerous it would be to rush into something with Joey so soon, but this just felt so right. So perfect. She knew that it wouldn't be long before they were more than friends, and she was perfectly ok with that. So far, anyways...

A/N: More to come soon. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, I'd really appreciate it! :)


	9. It's about Time

Several weeks went by, and although Phoebe and Joey began spending a lot more time together, and flirting much more excessively  
than usual, they remained "just friends" during that time. Despite their friend's trying to encourage them into a relationship, and despite  
how hard it was for Joey to resist kissing her again, he didn't try. He knew that she needed some space because of her and Mike's  
divorce, which was in the process of becoming finalized. Even though she didn't say it, Joey knew she was still upset about it, and  
as always, he was looking out for her well-being, and he wasn't about to push her into anything if she wasn't ready to move on.  
In the mean time, he was planning to move back to New York. He was able to find a new acting agency, and was trying to find a place to  
live. Monica and Chandler told him he could stay in their spare room until he did. After all, it had been designated to him when he first  
moved in. He also needed to go and get his stuff from his sister's house in L.A. and bring it back to New York. He had most of what he  
needed with him, but his fooseball table, his TV and the rest of his furniture were in L.A., and obviously, he would need all of  
that when he found a new place. His plan was to fly back there, and drive back with all of it. He would need to get his car back,  
anyways.

It was the weekend that he left that Joey and Phoebe became "official". Though neither of them said anything to make it happen, they  
both just knew. Phoebe was driving him to airport. They sat out front in her cab for a few minutes, as it wasn't quite time for departure, yet.

"You sure you don't want to come with me, Pheebs? It'll be fun! Not like our last road trip from Vegas."

Phoebe's nose wrinkled. "Awh, I'd love to come, Joey. But, unfortunately, I can't. The city needs me."

Joey laughed. "Why? Are you some kind of super hero?"

"Maybe.." Phoebe said with a grin.

He nodded in approval. "Nice. That's kinda hot." he checked his watch again and sighed. "Guess I better get going."

He noticed that Phoebe went quiet. She seemed tense about something. Almost like last time he left, when he was moving away, although this time,  
there were no tears.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm coming back this time." Joey assured her.

"Uh huh.."

He paused, as he had been about to open the door to get out of the cab. He took his hand off the handle and turned to her.

"You ok, Pheebs? What's wrong?"

She smirked, reassuringly as she looked up at him. "Nothing. Just go, you're going to be late."

"Alright, then.." Joey said. They both got out of the cab, after Phoebe popped the trunk open to get his bags. She took them out, handing them to him.

"Got everything you need?" she asked.

"Yup, I think so." Joey replied. He put his bags down for a second to give her a hug. "See you in a few days."

"Ok." Phoebe said. "Call me when you get there!"

He started towards the airport entrance, checking his watch again realizing his plane would be bording in a few minutes. He was going to have to hurry.

"Joey!" he heard Phoebe call out. "You forgot something!"

He stopped, angry with himself for making himself more late, and turned around. "What?"

Phoebe ran over to him, and to his surprise, she put her hands on his neck and kissed him, very hard. He kissed her back, passionately. It seemed to last a  
long time, but when she finally pulled back, Joey didn't want it to end. She smiled, her arms still wrapped around his neck. She looked into his eyes.  
"I love you." she said.

In a matter of seconds he had forgotten all about getting on the plane, and everything else around him, for that matter.  
He just felt incredibley happy to hear those words come out of her mouth. "I love you, too." he didn't know what else to say.  
His heart was pounding inside his chest as he stood there a few moments longer, still holding her. He didn't want to let her go. This was exactly what he had been  
wanting for a long time.

"You better go." Phoebe finally told him. "Oh, and don't die on the plane, ok?"

He took a few steps backwards, still grinning. "Ok. I'll try not to."

He turned around, and headed quickly towards the entrance, but turned around, halfway running back over to her.

"I don't think I wanna go, just yet." he told her with a big smile, as he took her into his arms again.

Phoebe laughed."Joey, you have to! Your plane's leaving soon. Go! I'll be right here when you get back, I promise."

"Alright." he said, reluctantly and sighed. He kissed her once more on the lips.

"I'll call you when I land!" he told her, waving as he ran back to the doors.

...

Phoebe smiled and waved back as she watched him disappear into the airport building, sending him happy thoughts, like she often did, about having a safe trip. She really wished that she could have taken the time away from work to go with him. But like he said, at least he was coming back this time. In the mean time, she was going to miss him. "It's only a few days.." she reminded herself, reaching into her coat pocket for her car keys. This was her old, fall jacket. She hadn't worn it since last fall. Right around the time Joey moved away. She knew this, because when she reached into her pocket, she felt something that was not her keys. She took it out to examine it. It was the ring he had given her last year. _"I want you to have it. Because you'll always be my number one girl."_ Phoebe smirked,  
she ran her fingers over it. Who would have thought that a year later she really would be?

Joey was only gone for a few days, but it felt like a life-time. He couldn't wait to get home and be with Phoebe now that they were officially together. He and Phoebe kept calling each other while he was in L.A., and he kept pulling over to call her on his way home. Driving home by himself was the worst. It was such a long drive. He so badly wished that Phoebe was there, and not just so that he could nap the whole time like he did driving home from Nevada, but because he would have loved her company. When he finally reached New York, he was supposed to go back to Monica and Chandler's place, to unload all of his stuff. He told Phoebe he'd call her again when he got there and that he'd come see her in the morning because he knew it would be late when he got in. But after thinking about it for some time, he decided he couldn't wait that long to see her again. He had already been waiting impatiently for days. When he finally reached the city, it was late, but he drove in the direction of her apartment instead of Chandler and Monica's place.

He also made a quick stop at a flower shop to buy her some flowers. He wanted to surprise her, and he also hoped that she wouldn't be mad about him showing up so late unannounced if he brought her flowers. By the time he reached her place, it was almost midnight. "I'll just stop in to say hi, quickly, then I'll leave." he told himself. He grabbed the flowers out of his car, and a shopping bag he had with him and headed up to her floor. He was nervous when he knocked, as it occured to him that he might be waking her up. But she answered the door within a few seconds, her face lighting up with excitment to see him.

"Joey!" she cried throwing her arms around him. "You made it!"

"Yeah I did." he said. He pulled back to give her a kiss. "I hope I didn't wake you up. I just really wanted to see your pretty face before I went home."

She smiled up at him. "Nope, you didn't wake me. I was waiting up for you to call, but this is so much better! I've missed you so much!" She pulled him into the apartment.

He held her close to him, enjoying this moment that he'd been waiting so long for. "I missed you too." he kissed the top of her head. "Don't ever leave me again, ok?"

Her face turned into a confused expression. "Joey, you're the one who left."

"Oh yeah.." he cleared his throat as he let got of her and handed her the bouquet of flowers he got.

"Here, these are for you." he told her, and also handed her the bag. "And this. Just some stuff I picked up on the way here."

"Oh, wow!" Phoebe said, as she looked at the flowers in her hand. "They're beautiful, Joey! Wait, let me put them in some water. I don't want them to die!"

She set the bag on her coffee table as she went into the kitchen to get a vase and some water. Joey went into the living room and sat down on her couch. She brought the flowers back in the vase and positioned them on the center of her coffee table.

"See? They look great there!" she said and joined him on the couch. "Now what's all this?" she asked, taking the bag off the table. She smiled as she started to open it.

Joey shrugged. "Oh, just some things I found that reminded me of you. I felt kinda bad that you couldn't come with me, you know?"

Phoebe started taking the things out of the bag growing more and more excited with each thing she found, like a child opening Christmas presents. Joey couldn't help but smile with her. He loved seeing her this happy.

"Oh neat! An 'I heart LA' guitar pick...some candles, and what's this?" she pulled out what looked like a large yellow and purple shirt.

"It's a Lakers jersey." Joey told her. "I'm not much of a fan, myself, but, I thought the colours would look cute on you." He smirked.

Phoebe grinned. "Well, I'm not a Lakers fan either, but I guess I am, now." she said. She reached over, giving him a big hug. "Awh, thank you, sweetie! God, You know you really didn't have to go through all of this trouble!"

"I know," he said. "But I know how much you love getting presents. And seeing the look on your face makes it all worth it."

Phoebe's smile grew, as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"You know what, Joey? I think you are the sweetest guy that I know." she said, and planted a kiss on his lips.

He gave her a smile and a wink. "I'm only sweet to pretty girls, you know."

Phoebe looked up, offended at first, then she smiled. "Oh, you mean me. Ok."

Joey laughed. He placed one of his hands on her shoulder, and kissed her again, but it lasted much longer this time. He slowly moved it up her neck and into her hair as they kissed more deeply. He put his other hand on her knee, and began to move it up her leg. He was hesitant to do so, remembering what happened when he tried that move on Rachel, years ago, but he wanted to see how she'd react. To his relief she grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to her as she kissed him back, more passionately. Joey stopped, suddenly, to catch his breath. He looked at her. This was a good sign, as the intimacy was part of what broke his and Rachel's relationship, but he knew that with Phoebe, it wouldn't be a problem.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just.. you didn't hit me."

She looked confused. "Oh. Well...did you want me to hit you? Cause I can, if you want!"

He couldn't help but laugh a little. "No, no..it's alright. It's a good thing. Don't worry."

They picked up where they left off, making out. Only this didn't feel like last time, that night on the balcony. This wasn't an accident, or a mistake. This was something they both wanted, and this time, it wasn't wrong of them to be doing this. Eventually Phoebe stood up, tugging his hands so he'd follow her lead. He did, and stood up, continuing to kiss her even harder. Her felt her hands slowly make their way down his back, and up underneath his T-shirt. Feeling her hands gently graze over his skin made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, he stopped kissing her, and leaned back to lift her off her feet. Still kissing her passionately, he took her into her bedroom.

..

Phoebe was almost asleep. She felt so relaxed and comfortable, with her body curled up next to his. Her arms were wrapped around his torso, with her head on his chest, listening to his breathing.  
She thought he was asleep, but she wasn't sure. She lifted her head, looking at him.

"Joey..are you still awake?" she whispered.

"Mm-hm." he answered, sleepily. He opened his eyes and ran his fingers through her hair. "Why, what's up?"

She smirked at him. "Nothing. Just wondering." She laid her head back down on his chest as he continued playing with her hair.

"What're you thinking about?" she asked him, after a moment.

He laid there quietly for a few seconds before he answered her. "Well..about you, I guess." he paused. "I was thinking about..uhm, you and Mike, actually."

Phoebe looked up at him again, frowning with confusion. "Really?"

"Yeah. You know, I just...I still feel like it's my fault you guys split up. I don't know why. I guess I still kinda feel bad about it. It's dumb, I know.."

"Yeah, just a little." Phoebe agreed. She smiled. "Because I don't feel bad about it. Not anymore. I have you now. And you make me happier than anyone ever has. Honestly, I don't know why we  
didn't think of this sooner. This you and me thing."

Joey laughed, quietly. "Neither do I. I wish we had." She smiled and pulled herself up to give him a kiss before she laid back down.

"You know what I was thinking about?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Hm?"

"I was thinking that I like having you here. And I think that instead of finding a new apartment, you should just live with me."

Joey was silent for a minute, and she was starting to think maybe she shouldn't have said that. It was a little soon to be thinking about that, after all, but she really meant it.

"I'd like that." he finally said. "We'll talk about it more in the morning." he kissed her hair. "Get some sleep, ok?"

Phoebe shut her eyes, wrapping her arms tighter around him, and contently drifted off to sleep in just a few minutes.

**AN: Sorry for kinda jumping all over with POV's here, haha. Thanks again, for reading and reviewing! More to come soon! :)**


	10. Only Fools Rush In

When Phoebe woke up the next morning, Joey was still asleep. She layed there for a moment, looking at him, debating whether or not she should wake him, but he looked adorable when he was sleeping. She couldn't bring herself to do it. Carefully untangling her limbs from his, she got out of bed, and pulled her duvet back up over him so he wouldn't get cold. She walked into the bathroom to take a shower, thinking about how incredibly well she'd slept last night. Probably better than she had long since before Mike left. After she showered, merrily humming her "In the Shower" song to herself, she got out, and wrapped a towel around herself. Wanting to let Joey sleep, she knew that she couldn't risk going back in her room to get dressed and blow-dry her hair. She noticed the trail of their clothes in the hall leading to the bedroom,, leading into her bedroom,because their main concern last night had been getting them off.

She smiled as she gathered up Joey's clothes. She tossed them into her room, knowing he'd be looking for them when he woke up.  
She started picking up her own, when she saw something in the living room that caught her eye. She picked it up. It was the jersey that Joey had bought her.

'This'll do for now.' she thought and pulled it over her head. It was big on her. It came down just above her knees. She went back into the bathroom to towel dry her hair and run a brush through it. She put the towel and her clothes from off the floor into a laundry basket and went to the kitchen.

"If I know Joey," she said to herself. "He's going to be hungry when he wakes up."

She opened her fridge. She had eggs, hash browns, but no sausage or bacon, which was understandable because she didn't eat meat. Just thought of having a dead animal in her fridge made her squeamish. Then she remembered that might, in fact have bacon left over from when Mike lived there. She use to make him keep any meat that he bought far away from all the other food. She opened the freezer and saw that there was a package of bacon in there, after all. She took it out, checking to see the expirey date. She didn't know how long it had been in there. Suddenly she heard footsteps and turned around, seeing Joey walking into the kitchen in his boxers and t-shirt, his hair disheveled, and looking irresistabley cute as he rubbed his eyes. He stretched and looked her up and down,  
with a grin.

"Damn..Am I ever glad I got you that jersey." he walked over to her to give her a kiss.

"Good morning, handsome." she said, returning his kiss, with a smile. She turned back to the counter to resume cooking. "Sleep alright?"

She felt his arms wrap around her, and the roughness of his beard stubble against her neck. "Mm-hm." he kissed her on the cheek.

"Good. I didn't want to wake you..Oh, hey do you know how long bacon can keep in the freezer?"

Instead of answering her, Phoebe felt him start to move one of his hands underneath her jersey. She turned around quickly, pushing it away.

He flashed her a smile. "What? I just wanted to know if you had panties on or not. I was curious."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Don't be a perv!" she said, as an involuntary smile formed on her lips.

He snickered. "Pheebs, that's like telling Ross not to talk about dinosaurs. Besides, how do you expect me not to be a perv when I have such a hot girlfriend?"

Phoebe's heart jumped a little. It was the first time she'd heard him call her that, and she liked the way it sounded. Her smile grew as she put her arms around his neck. She looked up at him.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. You look hotter than the whole Lakers cheer-leading squad put together! I just might switch teams because of you."

Phoebe's eyes lit up at his compliment. She was fairly certain he could flirt his way in and out of anything, whether she liked it or not.

"Oh yeah?" she said. "What about Pamela Anderson?"

Joey looked up, contemplating for a few seconds. "That's a tough one. I don't think anyone is hotter than Pamela Anderson." he looked at the displeased look on her face and smiled. "Except for you, of course." he leaned down to kiss her once again.

When she turned around to continue fixing breakfast, he brushed her hair off her shoulder and began kissing her neck, slowly running his hands over her stomach. Chills ran down her spine.

"Joey, come on." she said, grabbing his hands. She knew what he wanted, and if he didn't stop, she knew she wouldn't be able to resist giving in.

"Why?" he asked, locking his fingers between hers. "You don't like it when I kiss you?"

"No.." she lied. She inhaled sharply when his lips touched a particularly sensitive spot just below her ear lobe.

He grinned, triumphantly. "Liar." he went in to kiss her again, but she moved away.

"Joey, I'm trying to make you breakfast."

He perked up suddenly at the mention of food. His only other weakness besides sex. "Oh, Food? Why didn't you say so?"

He let go of her hands so she could go back to what she was doing.

She picked up the package of bacon. "Yeah, but I don't know if I should cook this. Mike left it in the freezer, and I don't know how old it is."

"It should be fine. You can keep meat in the freezer for a long time, Pheebs."

"Ok, well you better eat it all, because like hell I'm going to."

Joey laughed. "You know that won't be a problem. Need any help with any thing?"

"Nah, I'm ok, Joe."

"You sure? What if I make some coffee?"

"Sure, go ahead. It's in the can in the cupboard. Middle shelf."

She got out some frying pans to get breakfast started while Joey started the coffee. After he started the coffee machine, he went and sat at the kitchen table to wait for everything to be ready.

He picked up a newspaper off the table. She smirked as she watched him. Before he moved away, Joey hadn't come over to her place to visit very often, because usually she was at his or Monica's apartment, but she enjoyed the sight of him in her kitchen.'This, I could get use to.' she thought to herself.

When everything was cooking on the stove, Phoebe turned the the temperatures down. She grabbed two mugs from her cupboard for the coffee which had just finished. He knew that Joey liked his black, with two sugars from all those years they'd spent hanging out at Central Perk. She took his mug over to the table. She reached over him and set it down in front of him, pausing to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks, Pheebs." he said.

"Whatcha reading?" she asked, resting her chin on top of his head, and hanging her arms over his shoulders.

"The classifieds."

"Anything good?"

"Nah, I've sort of got into the habit of checking for apartments in here. I know it's a long shot, but I keep hoping my old place in Greenwhich Village will show up. I really miss that place."

Phoebe went back over to the stove, remembering the way he had hesitated last night, when she suggested he live with her.

As if he could read her mind he said "You know, I've been thinking about what you asked me last night. About moving in together."

"Yeah, and?" She saw that the food was ready, so she grabbed two plates and filled them up.

He lowered his newspaper, and took a sip of coffee before he answered her. "Uhm...I think it would be great Pheebs. But.."

Phoebe carried the food over to the table, feeling worried.

"But what?" she say down in the chair across from him and waited.

Joey sighed. He stared down at his plate for a moment.

"Joey.. you're allowed to say no, you know." she told him, reaching over and squeezing his hand.

He looked up. "Pheebs, it's not that. You think I wouldn't want to spend every day here with you, and get to wake up to your beautiful face every morning? I'd love that. It's just...I'm worried about you, I guess."

She let go of his hand, suddenly confused. "Why?"

"I just...don't know if you're ready for that, that's all." he picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite.

Phoebe watched him, growing more confused by what he was trying to say. "But I already told you that I am, Joey. I mean, it was my idea."

"I know. It's just.." he said. He paused, still chewing. "Look, Pheebs..I've dated girls who are on the rebound before. Most of them are still all mixed up, you know? They think they're ready to move on, but then their ex-boyfriend comes back, and wants to work things out, and just like that, it's over."

Phoebe stared in disbelief. "Joey, you really think I would do that to you?"

"I'm not saying you would.."

"Then what are you saying?"

He took a deep breath and looked down. "Pheebs, I just want to make sure that we're both on the same page, you know? I've loved you for a long time now, and just a few weeks ago, you were still in love with  
Mike. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Phoebe felt slightly hurt. It was like he didn't trust her, or didn't believe her. "Yeah, I get it. I just...didn't know you felt that way." she muttered. She picked up her fork and started to eat.

Joey sighed, putting his hand on hers. "Pheebs, I'm not trying to insult you. I'm just saying that it's possible that you're just a little confused right now. Most people in your situation would be. And it's possible that you still have feelings for Mike..."

Phoebe paused, lowering her fork. She was stunned. She believed him that he wasn't meaning any harm, but he was legitimatly concerned, and questioning her feelings for him.

"Look," Joey said, playing with the rings on her fingers. "It's ok if you do. I'm not going to be mad. I mean, I understand. It takes time to get over somebody you love. I just want you to be honest with me."

"Joey...Why would you even think that? Mike is gone. He's out of the picture, completely. I think it's pretty safe to say he's not coming back. And even if he did, do you really think that I'd take him back, over you?"

She covered his hand with her other one. "Joey, you mean the world to me. You always have. All Mike and I had was an unhappy marriage, and now that it's over, it's like I can finally be happy for the first time in a long time. And it's all because of you."

Joey gave a half-smirk, still staring down at her hand on his. He glanced up at something on the wall, behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see what he was looking at. Her and Mike's wedding portrait, that had cost her over $300 to have blown up to size and custom framed. But now, it was of no value to her. It carried nothing but painful memories.

"Is that what's bothering you?" she said. She got out of her chair, reached up and knocked it off the wall. If fell to the ground with a crash, the frame shattering.

"There. It's gone. Good-bye and good riddance!"

Joey couldn't help but smile.

"I'm gonna get a broom and sweep up the glass." Phoebe said, realizing what a mess she had made. She went to the closet to her broom and dust pan. She swept over the floor several times, making sure she got all the glass. She threw the broken glass, the now broken frame, and picture into the trash. When she went to put the broom back, she noticed the look on Joey's face. He was still just looking down, sadly. Not touching his food, which was a sure fire sign he was still upset.

She walked over to his chair, bending her knees so she was at his eye level. "Joey..Look at me." she put her hand on his chin, turning his head towards her. His eyes finally met hers.

"I love you. And even though we've only been together for a few days, I've been more happy with you, than I ever was the entire time I was married to Mike. And I feel like things can only get better for us, if we let them. So I'm going to ask you again. All I need  
is a yes or a no: Do you want to live with me?"

"Yes." he said, without hesitation this time.

She smiled. "Then we are on the same page." she kissed him, and he kissed her back.

"I love you, Pheebs." he said.

"I know." she said, with a grin and returned to her seat to finish eating.

...

Later on, after Phoebe left for work, Joey decided he should probably go over to Monica and Chandler's place, even though taking his stuff there now would seem pointless, he still had some of his stuff at their house. Besides, they had been expecting him last night,  
and he didn't show up so he knew he should probably check in with them so they knew he made it home safely.

He walked into their house, and saw Chandler in the living room, watching tv and playing with the twins, while Monica was fixing dinner in the kitchen.

"Hey." he said to Chandler.

Chandler looked up. He rose to his feet.

"And just where in the hell have you been?"

"Dude, relax."

"All night? Without calling us to tell us where you were? Do you know how worried we've been? You are grounded for a week, young man!"

Joey snorted and rolled his eyes as he walked past him.

"And if you're going to cop an attitude, I'll make it two! If you're gonna live under our roof, you obey our rules. Other wise, you can get out!"

Monica walked out of the kitchen, rolling her eyes at her husband. "Chandler, give it a rest. Joey's not our son."

"I know that." he said. "I was just practicing for when the twins are teenagers. Seriously, though, where have you been?"

"I was just at Phoebe's place." he told him. "Oh, and speaking of moving out. I have some good news."

"Oh, did you find an apartment, Joe?" Monica asked.

"Nope. Better. I'm moving in with Phoebe! Isn't that great?"

He walked into the kitchen, grabbing a beer out of the fridge before he returned to the living room.

"Hey, guys!" he said to Jack and Erica who were playing with their toys on the floor. He ruffled their hair as he walked past them and sat down in the chair.

Chandler and Monica were both looking at him, completely confused.

"Woah, wait..you're what?" Monica asked. "Joey are you and Phoebe...a thing now? Like officially?"

"Yeah." he answered.

"Since when?"

"Since a few days ago. Before I left to get my stuff."

"And now you're moving in with her?"

"Yeah." Joey said. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

Chandler looked at Monica. "Geez, you spend one night at Phoebe's place, and she let's you move in? I'll keep that in mind, the next time we have a fight."

Monica hit him in the arm. She turned back to Joey.

"Joey, don't you think it's a little soon to be moving in with her?"

Joey shrugged. "Well, I kinda did at first, but we talked about it, and it's what we both want. I'd love to live with Phoebe. I think it'll be great."

Monica sat down on the couch, next to him. "Well, I guess if it's what you both want, then maybe it will be great."

Chandler joined her on the other side of the couch. Strangely, he didn't have anything to say. Monica nudged him. "What's wrong?"

He shrugged. "It's just, I kind of like having Joey living with us. It was like old times, again!"

Monica made a face. "Well I didn't. You guys are too loud when you get excited over video games, or sports, and that leaves me having to deal with two babies  
who won't go to sleep at night! But I'm also happy for you and Pheebs, Joe. I can't believe you guys are finally together!"

"And I can't believe Phoebe is stealing you from me." Chandler said crossing his arms. "Is it because she has pretty blonde hair? I could have pretty blonde hair!"

Monica laughed as she got up to finish making dinner, but being Monica, she couldn't help herself from picking up toys the twins weren't playing with and putting them away  
on her way there. A few minutes later, the phone rang, and she answered it.

"Yes, just one moment, please. " she covered the receiver bringing the phone out to Joey. "It's for you, Joe."

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mr. Tribianni. This is Dale Kingsley, the manager of Greenwhich Village suites. I see that you called earlier this week inquiring about an apartment, and I thought I'd  
let you know that we have one available. We'll be having an open house viewing later this week."

"Oh, uh, I appreciate the offer, but I've actually decided to move in with my girlfriend, so.."

"Oh, gee, well that's too bad, because it's a very nice two bedroom apartment. It has a balcony and a large kitchen and living area. It's right on the third floor, so there isn't much noise."

"Gee, it sounds great but...wait, did you say the third floor? Is it, by any chance apartment number 19?"

"Well, no. I'm afraid that one is already taken. This one is much nicer, however. It's apartment number 20."

"Oh." Joey said, disappointed. "Yeah, sorry, not interested, thanks."

He hung up the phone and continued watching tv with Chandler.

"Who was that?" Chandler asked.

"Some guy from Greenwhich village. They have a suite open, but it's not our old one, so, what's the point, you know?"

"Yeah, our apartment rocked." Chandler said. "It was the perfect bachelor pad. Until I moved in with Monica. Her apartment was great, too. It was the perfect place for just the two of us, and of course you guys, when you came over. God, I miss that place sometimes."

Joey nodded in agreement. "Me too, man. We had so many great times there. All of us did."

"Yeah, good ol' Apartment 20. I wonder who lives there, now."

Joey shrugged. "Beats me, man." A few seconds went by before Joey clued in, putting it all together. His eyes widened as he sat up in his chair. "Oh my God! I gotta call that guy back!"

He picked up the phone and hit redial. "Hello, Mr. Kingsley? Yeah, this is Joey Tribbiani again. On second thought, I'd love to come in for the viewing, when will that be?... Ok, perfect. I'll be there. Thanks a lot."

he looked at Chandler with excitement. "Dude! I might be moving back into the building, after all! Apartment 20 is the one that's available!"

Chandler frowned. "It took you that long to figure that out?"

Joey shot him an annoyed look. Monica came out of the kitchen again, overhearing what she said.

"You're moving into our old place? Oh wow, that would be great! We could all hang out there, again. You're not going to mess it up, are you?"

"No!" Joey said. "Your stuff isn't even there any more!"

"Well, if you break a window, or anything in there, I'm going to be very upset!" Monica told him.

Chandler nodded. "She means it. And my health insurance doesn't cover therapy for that kind of trauma."

Joey stood up, growing even more excited. "Awh, man! If we get it, it's going to be so great! I can't wait to tell Pheebs! She is not going to believe this!" he said, dialing her number to tell her the good news.

**A/N: You guys were so nice in your reviews for the last chapter, thank you so much! Don't forget to let me know how you like this one, and I'll try to update ASAP! :)**


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